


Accidental Text

by RikuKingdomHearts3



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Texting, Uncle Ardyn Izunia, Wrong Number AU, elements from canon, these two are adorable dorks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24475171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuKingdomHearts3/pseuds/RikuKingdomHearts3
Summary: After getting into a serious accident, Noctis is left not only hospitalized but also in need of a new phone. Thankfully that part comes fairly easy, only issue is that Gladio apparently messed up putting in the contacts cause now Noctis finds himself texting a complete stranger. At least it doesn’t seem all too bad with this stranger, maybe some light can come from it while Noctis spends his days in the hospital.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 290
Kudos: 296





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written a fic that is solely just FF15, but I thought I would give it a go and see what happens.

Noctis stared forward at the bland beige wall. He was trying his best to focus on how boring and dull the color was, hoping maybe he could just tune out whatever it was that Ignis was saying to him. After what he had been through, why did he had to be ‘mom’ lectured on how not to over do it while being hospitalized? That was the last thing that he wanted.

“Noct,” Ignis said as he stopped talking. “Are you listening?” 

“Yeah yeah…” Noctis muttered.

“Are you really?” Ignis asked, not at all convinced. 

“Noctis slowly tried to turn onto his side, facing away from Ignis with his body aching at every movement. He regretted doing it after but didn't let Ignis know. “Yup.” 

“I can tell that you are not,” Ignis replied bluntly. “And facing away from me isn’t going to help.”

Noctis sighed deeply before he turned himself back. Ignis was always nosy like that, but it was his job anyways. Always looking out for him stuff even when he didn't want it. But he was still his friend either way.

"Thanks Iggy," Noctis replied. "I know you're just trying your best to help."

"This isn't easy on any of us Noct, I only wish to make sure that you are going to properly adjust."

"Yeah I getcha… going to be stuck here for awhile until I recover. I figured that much,” Noctis grumbled. 

“I’ll be sure to bring things from home that could make your time here much more comfortable. I will also bring your schoolwork once we inform the school and sort that out.”

“Ugh! I still gotta do school?”

“Not immediately no. You will be given time to work on your recovery. But you cannot avoid your studies forever."

"Watch me try," Noctis replied. "Hey… any idea what the deal with my phone's going to be?"

"Since the culprit has yet to be located, we've done what we can to track it, but also to disable the number to be on the safe side."

"Ugh so now I'm without a phone?" 

"Not to worry, Gladio will be bringing you your new phone later today."

Noctis sighed with relief as he laid back into his pillow. "Thank the gods… I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my phone."

"Maybe you'd actually put your mind to more resourceful things. You know…" Ignis tapped the side of his chin. "Maybe that's actually a good idea."

"What? Ignis no! You can't do that! I need my online connection and my games like King's Knight or I could die!"

"I think the incident you were in would classify more as something much more deadly than whether or not you play a game," Ignis deadpanned.

Noctis sighed once more. He knew Ignis wasn't really scolding him over what had happened. It wasn't his fault anyways… not fully at least. But he wasn't ready to talk about that yet. He wanted time to just relax and get his mind off of the subject. 

Every time he closed his eyes he could still remember. He could remember the shadows that loomed over him, growing closer and closer…

Noctis opened his eyes to see Ignis looking at him, no doubt studying him with his sharp eyes. Eventually he closed his own eyes and nodded. "Very well. I'll let you have some alone time. Remember Gladio will be by later to visit."

Yeah. Thanks Iggy, serious," Noctis said trying to sound as thankfully as he could. 

"Of course," Ignis replied before heading to the door. "Get rest if you are able."

"Not a lot else I can do for right now," Noctis replied before he watched Ignis leave the room. 

Now left alone Noctis groaned audibly. "Ugh this sucks."

Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long scrolling mindlessly through the TV channels. Gladio walked into the room without knocking of course, but it wasn't like he would be barging in on Noctis doing anything. He couldn't really get up and leave the bed on his own anyway. 

Gladio walked over to Noctis, his arms crossed as he glared down at him. Noctis returned an equally deep glare in return. "What?"

"You know what," Glaido grumbled.

Noctis frowned. He knew what Gladio was doing. He knew why the guy was trying to burn his stare into him. But Noctis was in no mood for it. He wasn't ready to be reprimanded until he graduated high school. "I know what you wanna say… but don't. Just don't."

"I'm not saying anything. But at least you are smart enough to be mulling it over already."

"You have my new phone?" Noctis said suddenly. He seriously wasn't ready or even wanting to talk about it yet. If he could just avoid it for now… that would be good enough. 

Gladio rolled his eyes and pulled out a new sleek phone in a black case. He placed it down on the table next to Noctis's bed. With a grunt Gladio turned around and headed to the door. Clearly he was still annoyed with Noctis, and Noctis knew exactly why. But still he really just wasn't ready to talk about it. He knew Gladio would only repeatedly scold him for his foolishness.

Taking his new phone he glanced up to see Gladio at the door with one hand on the handle. There was a wavering expression. One that showed Gladio was concerned more than he was angry. But he still was terrible at this kind of thing overall. "You feeling better?"

"Some…" Noctis answered softly. 

"Good. Just get some rest."

"That's what everybody tells me… I'm trying to…" Noctis replied. 

After that Gladio left the room without another word. There was nothing but the soft sound from the TV that filled the room. Noctis knew that all of this was going to take time. Not only for his recovery but also not having his friends overly worry about him. He knew that both Gladio and Ignis were no doubt thinking about it. How they found him bleeding and crying out in pain. How much they regretted not knowing what had happened. He waited a few hours mindless scrolling through his phone, checking feeds and other various things. So far no reports had been let out about what had happened to him. There was no way that they'd let this slip out to the press. 

Noctis scoffed as the thought entered his mind. _"Crown Prince beaten up by common thugs. Royal family disgraced."_ He laughed bitterly at the thought, trying to imagine what his father would say. Actually he didn't want to imagine that. Eventually a message popped up followed quickly by another. All from one contacted labels **Specs.** Noctis clicked on it and opened up the messenger app.

 **Specs** : Checking in.  
 **Specs:** Gladio informed me that he delivered the phone.

Noctis hummed to himself before typing out the reply. 

**Noctis:** yeah I got it. 

**Specs:** Everything should be in working order. Gladio spent the time to fill in as many contacts as he knew you had. There may be a few missing, but you are the official judge of that.

 **Noctis:** you let him reinstall every on my phone?

 **Specs:** I was more concerned with talking with the doctors.  
 **Specs:** So yes, I let him handle that. I can assure you he wouldn't do anything idiotic given the situation. 

Noctis knew Ignis was right. He thought for a moment before typing out his next reply. 

**Noctis:** yeah…  
 **Noctis:** you're right.  
 **Noctis:** Hey, you wanna play some King's Knight?

**Specs:** Not at the moment. Still working on important paperwork.  
 **Specs:** Maybe later if I am able.

**Noctis:** okay.  
 **Noctis:** I'll ask Gladio 

Noctis switched out of the one chat and opened a new chat with Gladio considering it was a new phone. 

**Noctis:** yo, Gladio!  
 **Noctis:** if you aren't as pissed anymore, you up for some King's Knight?

Noctis watched and waited for a few moments. He wondered if Gladio was still mad at him, but either way he just really hoped he could at least play the game with him. 

**Gladio:** Uh I think you have the wrong number.

Noctis blinked at the response. It didn't make any sense to him. Why would Gladio try to pull something like that? At a time like this?

 **Noctis:** don't shit with me  
 **Noctis:** it isn't funny!

Noctis waited as he watched the text bubble, waiting just to see what Gladio was going to say back. 

**Gladio:** But I'm not this Gladio guy!  
 **Gladio:** I swear!!

**Noctis:** sure…

**Gladio:** Why don't you believe me?!?!  
 **Gladio:** Did you even check if the number is right!?

Noctis was going to reply again, trying to call Gladio out on his stupid prank, but instead he actually decided to actually check the number. He opened up the contacts and checked under Gladio's name. When he saw the number his eyes widened. Gladio's number… had a mistake. The last five digits were supposed to be **53734** but the numbers in the contact was **53234**. It only took a matter of seconds to realize what was going on. 

_"Oh my gods! He fat fingered his own number! And he didn't even check!"_ Right away Noctis added in the real Gladio number while renaming this mistake number as **???** for the being. Noctis then reopened the contact with who he figured was just some stranger. 

**Noctis:** hey um… sorry.  
 **Noctis:** turns out Gladio was dumb enough to fat finger his own number

**???:** omg serious???  
 **???:** I mean like I don't know the guy but how do you screw something up like that?

**Noctis:** leave it to him to figure out some way  
 **Noctis:** sorry if I scared you at all

**???:** No no it's fine!  
 **???:** it was just so out of the blue but like I get it!  
 **???:** You're cool!  
 **???:** wait!  
 **???:** I don't mean like I'm saying you're cool.  
 **???:** I mean like, you know, like the expression. That's what I mean! 

Noctis couldn't help but laugh. Whomever this was seemed to be pretty energetic.

 **Noctis:** nah I get it.  
 **Noctis:** you're cool 

Noctis waited a moment before he sent one more message. 

**Noctis:** like the expression :P

**???:** Hey!  
 **???:** Very funny ha ha.

**Noctis:** anyways sorry to text  
 **Noctis:** you know cause the mix up  
 **Noctis:** I'll let you go

Noctis was just about to close the app when he saw a sudden **Wait!!** pop up from the stranger.

 **???:** Um like you said King's Knight?  
 **???:** You play it?  
 **???:** I mean!  
 **???:** Obviously you must play it! Cause why else would you be asking.

**Noctis:** yeah, what about it?

**???:** I play it too!

**Noctis:** really? Cool!

Noctis hummed to himself as he stared at the messenger. He still has no idea who he was talking to. It was just some complete stranger. They honestly could have been anyone. But for some reason Noctis found it a nice change of pace. Whomever they were, it made him curious. Plus they played King's Knight, which was always good in his book. He knew he could just text Gladio later, but he had told Ignis he would ask him. Knowing how Ignis was, he would definitely find out if Noctis never ended up texting Gladio. So he quickly sent a message to the guy, asking to maybe play some King's Knight sometime later.

Right away he went back to his new contact.

 **Noctis:** hey,  
 **Noctis:** do you maybe wanna play some King's Knight with me?

**???:** Wait serious?!  
 **???:** But you don't even know me!

**Noctis:** well I know you aren't Gladio, that's something  
 **Noctis:** we can still play though  
 **Noctis:** I think it would be fun to play with someone new

**???:** Wow really?  
 **???:** You mean it?

 **???:** Thanks.

**Noctis:** but first what's your name?  
 **Noctis:** can't really keep you as ??? in my contacts 

**???:** Oh!!  
 **???:** Yeah! Same for you!  
 **???:** I'm Prompto!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with the texting, unless it is stated within the storytelling, if there are big breaks between the messages from one person, it usually means it took a few minutes between messages. 
> 
> I am still not entirely use to the texting way but I wanted to try this out. I also may change the title as I am not entirely feeling it, maybe if someone has a suggestion that can help. But anyways hope you all enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

Noctis found himself to be smiling as he put the name into contact. He couldn't explain it, but this accidental meeting really seemed to lighten up his mood tremendously. Maybe it was because it was somebody new. Someone who didn't know who he was or what had happened to him. Someone who didn't know and wasn't going to look down at him because of what happened. 

**Noctis:** nice to meet you. Prompto

 **Noctis** : I'm Noctis

This time he had to wait a few minutes before Prompto replied to him.

 **Prompto:** WAIT?! WHAT?!  
 **Prompto:** You mean like the real Noctis?  
 **Prompto:** I mean you're real and stuff. But like *the* Noctis? The prince?  
 **Prompto:** Or like can there be others named Noctis? Is it actually a more common name than I thought?

Noctis started to laugh. At first he thought it would be annoying now that Prompto knew who he was. But once he saw the flood of messaging from the guy, all he felt was amusement. He waited a few moments though as he saw Prompto kept trying to type something but clearing was deleting before sending. Noctis could only imagine what was going on in the guy’s mind. 

**Noctis:** yeah I’m the real Noctis

**Prompto:** HOLY SHIT! 

**Prompto:** AH! Sorry!  
 **Prompto:** I just never expected to be texted by the prince of all people!  
 **Prompto:** Sorry if I am rambling too much! It’s a lot to take in!

**Noctis:** nah, you’re cool  
 **Noctis:** still like the expression :P

**Prompto:** You’re not going to let me live that down are you?

**Noctis:** maybe

**Prompto:** Dude!  
 **Prompto:** Wait is it okay to call you that? Like is it okay to call the prince ‘dude’?

**Noctis:** yeah it’s fine.  
 **Noctis:** you don’t need to give me any special treatment  
 **Noctis:** so you said King’s Knight before?

**Prompto:** Yeah yeah! That’s what this was all about! 

**Noctis:** then let’s play, alright?

**Prompto:** Totally!

For a good portion of the later afternoon Noctis played online with Prompto in King’s Knight. Eventually Gladio had replied back and Noctis knew better to ignore him. Though by the time Gladio had replied, Noctis had already played a lot with Prompto, so he decided to tell Gladio that he was just a bit tired for the night, but that they could play tomorrow. 

He didn’t say anything though about the screw up. Really he could have thanked Gladio for his fat fingered mistake, but he knew also that speaking about it would be a bad idea. Being the Prince meant that security was one of the most important things, and if it was revealed he was conversing with just someone random, Noctis was sure Ignis would lose it completely. That was one scary thought that Noctis did not want to deal with. 

Though with that on his mind, he reopened his chat with Prompto. He hadn’t said anything since he said he was signing off from the game, and Prompto hadn’t said anything else either. But slowly Noctis started to type out something. He just needed a good way to say it. 

**Noctis:** hey

**Prompto:** Oh hey!  
 **Prompto:** Uh something up? 

**Noctis:** so like…  
 **Noctis:** don’t wanna sound weird but like… I guess I gotta check on these things cause I am the prince you know…

Noctis hummed as he thought how to ask his question. He really didn’t want it to come off weird or anything, especially since Prompto seemed nice. The last thing he wanted to do would be to scare off a new friend who just treated him as a regular person, not a prince. 

**Noctis:** so you aren’t some creepy middle aged man are you?

**Prompto:** ew no!  
 **Prompto:** Course not! I’m just your regular 15-year-old growing boy!

Noctis did believe Prompto. He did want to believe him anyways, the kid was the same age as him after all. But he knew he had to be safe about it. 

**Noctis:** but you could just be saying that

**Prompto:** But I’m nooooot!  
 **Prompto:** I’m serious!  
 **Prompto:** See look at this!

A moment later a picture popped up in the chat. Noctis clicked on it to enlarge it and stared carefully at the picture. It was of a boy who was definitely in the 15-year-old range. He had golden blond hair that was slightly windswept. The hair itself was uneven, with some sections longer than others, making it look unruly. Though Noctis had no reason to judge as his hair was just as unruly and messy. He also saw that Prompto had bright and cheerful eyes, with a happy grin to match the rest. 

As he stared, he felt the slightest warmth in his cheeks. He hadn’t expected it, but as soon as he saw the picture of Prompto, the first word that came to his mind was that Prompto looked cute. He let out a sigh before he closed the picture. It would be weird to keep staring at it anyways all while Prompto was waiting for a response. 

He started to type, but half way through he stopped. A smirk crossed his face as an idea came to mind. It was half for fun but also he was trying to be smart about it anyways. 

**Noctis:** yeah I see it

**Prompto:** There you see? You believe me now?

**Noctis:** nope

**Prompto:** Whaaat?! 

**Prompto:** Come on! I’m not lying, that's really me!

**Noctis:** sure, or you just swapped the first picture of a 15-year-old boy you found online

Suddenly another picture popped into the chat. Still of Prompto, but this time he was sticking out his tongue, looking a little less happy than before.

 **Prompto:** There!  
 **Prompto:** You believe me now?

**Noctis:** maybe a little more now

**Prompto:** Argh!

**Noctis:** I told you I gotta be safe  
 **Noctis:** I’m the prince after all,

He waited a bit but Prompto didn’t reply back right away. He was starting to wonder maybe if he had annoyed him or not, but then a new picture came in. Noctis clicked it and began to laugh out loud. Prompto was holding a piece of paper, holding it up next to him. On the paper were some quickly written words that read, _‘I’m really Prompto. Believe me!’_

 **Noctis:** alright alright, I believe you

**Prompto:** Good!  
 **Prompto:** But now you gotta send me a picture of yourself!

Noctis froze up at the message. He should have seen that coming. 

**Prompto:** and if you are the real Noctis you can easily take a picture of yourself  
 **Prompto:** so like no stealing official news pictures of you  
 **Prompto:** If you know, you really are you haha.

Noctis sighed as he exited the messenger and opened up the camera app. He winced as soon as he saw his face. He still had plenty of bruises and stitches covering his entire face. It was far from a pretty sight, the thugs really had left an impression for sure. But with that… I couldn't send a fresh new picture to Prompto. It would only lead to questions and if it got leaked, even worse. But he needed a picture to show to Prompto. If he took too long he was sure that it would only look suspicious. Quickly he thought up something that he could only hope could work. 

Laying down on the bed he pulled the sheets over his head, draping it over the worst part of his face. Carefully he made sure the picture still got at least half of his face in frame. He snapped it and quickly sent it over to Prompto.

 **Prompto:** Dude are you trying to sleep already?  
 **Prompto:** it's only like 6pm!

Noctis sighed with relief. From the looks of it Promto didn't question it at all. Thankfully that seemed to be the case and now things could continue on as they had been.

 **Noctis:** I'm tired…  
 **Noctis:** I like my sleep.

**Prompto:** I guess all that princely stuff can get pretty tiring?

**Noctis:** Yeah it can be…

**Prompto:** Well we don't have to talk about that boring stuff!  
 **Prompto:** How about video games? Like besides King's Knight what else do you like to play?

**Noctis:** well there is a lot of things

Noctis began to list off a lot of games that he enjoyed the most, and from what he found out, Prompto enjoyed them too. Noctis continued to text back and forth with Prompto during the evening, even when the nurses brought his dinner. It just was so easy and fun chatting with Prompto. He couldn't fully explain what he was feeling, but he knew that this new encounter was really something special. 

Eventually it came time to sleep for the night. The nurses had given him his pain medication and it was already making him more drowsy than usually. He really wished he could talk to Prompto some more though. But he knew there could be more time for that anyway. 

**Noctis:** hey I think I'm going to go  
 **Noctis:** still tired and stuff

 **Noctis:** need sleep 

**Prompto:** Oh!  
 **Prompto:** Oh yeah I getcha! I should probably sleep anyways too.  
 **Prompto:** But today was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed talking with you!  
 **Prompto:** Wait!  
 **Prompto:** I don't mean it like anything weird!  
 **Prompto:** I mean I did enjoy it but,  
 **Prompto:** I don't mean enjoyed enjoyed like you know…  
 **Prompto:** Gah!  
 **Prompto:** Idk what I'm trying to say anymore.

**Noctis:** ha ha, it's okay  
 **Noctis** : you're good, nothing weird about it. I enjoyed talking too

**Prompto:** Don't you mean "I'm cool, like the expression"? XP

**Noctis:** yeah that!  
 **Noctis:** maybe I should rename your contact name to "like the expression"

**Prompto:** Whaaaat?! Noooooo!  
 **Prompto:** Come on dude! Don't do that!

**Noctis:** maybe I will maybe I won't  
 **Noctis:** you'll never know anyways ;)

**Prompto:** Dude!!

**Noctis:** ha ha, goodnight "Like the Expression"

**Prompto:** >:(

**Noctis:** I mean Prompto :P

**Prompto:** All right fine -_-  
 **Prompto:** Goodnight!

Noctis closed the messenger and was ready to turn off his phone when a message from Ignis popped up. 

**Specs:** You’ve been fairly quiet throughout the day. Is everything all right?

**Noctis:** yeah  
 **Noctis:** just a lot of thinking… you know about stuff 

**Specs:** I understand.  
 **Specs:** Did the nurses supply you with the pain medication at the correct time? 

**Noctis:** yeah… I’m pretty tired now

**Specs:** I’ll let you get some sleep then.  
 **Specs:** For tomorrow, send me a list of items you would like to have there with you since you stay at the hospital will be long. But know that I cannot bring every single game that you own. I will limit it to five games. 

**Noctis:** yeah yeah  
 **Noctis:** I get it  
 **Noctis:** I’ll do that tomorrow then

 **Noctis:** I think I’ll sleep now

**Specs:** Alright, goodnight Noctis. I hope that you can recover soon. 

**Noctis:** thanks Iggy

Now alone with his thoughts, Nocits was ready to fall asleep. But before he did he opened up the messenger once more. He clicked on the chat with Prompto and scrolled back to the photos that he had sent. Clicking on the first one he took in Prompto’s appearance again. 

The warmth filled his chest as he stared at the image. The same thought kept crossing his mind the longer he stared. This warmth that he felt, he never felt something quite like it. He had a small idea of what it met, but he decided to shelf the thoughts and feelings as best as he could. But he did smile one last time at Prompto’s picture before finally shutting off his phone for the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Thank you all so much for showing interest in this idea. 
> 
> I hope that the texting format is working well? I am unsure if I need to do it differently or not, but let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, thank you all so much for your kind words and support. It really means a lot to me to see that you guys enjoy. 
> 
> Also this chapter there is a special cameo by a different FF character, see if you can spot!

The following morning Noctis was rudely woken up. Well he classified it as rudely woken since the nurses came to check on him before noon. Before noon of all times! But he knew they had to help him, especially since he couldn't get up on his own to get to the bathroom. That was probably the worst part of it. It felt so undignified for him, a prince, but he knew it was beyond his control. 

He wished he could just go back to bed and sleep the day away, but now he was awake eating the breakfast that was supplied. It wasn't the worst food he had eaten, surprisingly this hospital had very good food. None of it could compare to Ignis's cooking through. 

_"Maybe I'll text Iggy to bring some of his desserts,"_ Noctis mumbled to himself before he checked his phone. If he wasn't going to fall back asleep he might as well check his messages. 

There was nothing from Gladio or Ignis yet. They at least knew Noctis preferred to sleep in so they wouldn't usually test until later unless it was something dire.

But he did have a good couple of messages from Prompto.

 **Prompto:** Hey!  
**Prompto:** Good morning Noctis! Hope you are well today!

**Prompto:** Oh wait! It's Monday you have school right?  
**Prompto:** Or are you just taught at home? How does that work for you?  
**Prompto:** Do you have a lot of tutors and stuff?

 **Prompto:** Sorry if I'm saying too much! If you are in class sorry!!

While a smile that was coming easier and easier every moment Noctis started his reply. He thought carefully though before he found what he wanted to say.

 **Noctis:** nah you aren't saying too much  
**Noctis:** I was trying to sleep but ended up waking up early and couldn't fall back asleep… ugh

**Prompto:** Ah that sucks man! Sorry to hear it.

**Noctis:** it's okay  
**Noctis:** and to answer your other questions, yeah I got school but I am taught at home  
**Noctis:** but got nothing going on today

It wasn't a complete lie, Noctis had at one point in his childhood been taught by many tutors that would come to the Citadel to teach him. But that was years ago… during a different time in his life that he didn't care to reflect back on. In more recent times he had actually been going to public school. His father wanted him to have a more casual life when not learning his royal duties. But now all of that had come to a screeching halt. Either way he did feel a little bad for lying to Prompto, but he couldn't trust him with the truth, not yet at least. 

**Prompto:** Well that's good to hear then! You can just kick back and maybe try to sleep more!

**Noctis:** you know that sounds good  
**Noctis:** I might just go and do that  
**Noctis:** thanks for the suggestion zzzzzzz

**Prompto:** Aw dude!  
**Prompto:** Well if you really wanna sleep I can't stop you. 

**Noctis:** nah I won't yet  
**Noctis:** but wait… don't you have school?

**Prompto:** Oh no!  
**Prompto:** I mean like I do but I'm home schooled. So kinda like you in a way.

It only then made sense in Noctis's head why Prompto had been asking. If he was really a home schooled kid and didn't keep a check on things like schools, he wouldn't have known Noctis went to public school. 

**Noctis:** yeah I guess so  
**Noctis:** guess we both got the day free then  
**Noctis:** could play some more games or stuff

**Prompto:** Yeah! That sounds cool!

Noctis was about to reply when there was a knock on his door. A moment later an adult man dressed in a doctor's uniform. Noctis sighed before looking back down at his phone.

 **Noctis:** gotta brb for a bit  
**Noctis:** just some boring stuff that hopefully won't take long 

**Prompto:** Oh, I gotcha!  
**Prompto:** Hear from you later!

Noctis closed the phone and nodded for the doctor to come in. The man looked to be a young adult with black spiky hair that was crazier looking than Noctis's. When he got to the bed, Noctis looked at the name tag that read _Dr. Fair._ Noctis had been too far out of it when he was brought into the hospital so he didn't remember any of the doctors that had talked to him if any. But this guy didn't look too bad though, not that Noctis ever had any bad encounters before, he just didn't like being in a hospital in general. 

"Well it's good to see that you're awake Mr Caelum. Or would you prefer me to call you something else. Cause I totally get it if you do."

"Uh yeah… just call me Noctis."

"Good good!" Dr. Fair said as he grinned. "Now onto the pressing matters of the day. You feel alright so far? Any pain or discomfort currently?"

"Nothing right now. Maybe just a bit stiff though…"

"That's reasonable from laying around. But not much we can do at the moment until your body recovers some more. Were you told of what the damage was?"

"Some at the start…" Noctis replied as he turned to look out the window. "But I was still pretty out of it from the medication. But I can take a guess based on how I feel."

"Oh good! Looks like you got my job covered. That makes it a lot easier," Dr. Fair replied with a laugh. "Being serious though, your recovery will be slow but we are taking every precaution we can to make it as easy as we can. But thankfully you have no major internal bleeding, so nothing to worry about there. Just the minor typical bruises are all you need to worry about for now."

"And the rest of me?" Noctis slowly glanced to the end of the bed. Despite the covers over his legs, he knew what they looked like currently… what the biggest issue was. 

"Ah yeah… the broken ankles and ribs. That's going to be the hardest part. At least with your ribs, they were only small fractures rather than completely broken. The ankles on the other hand… well you know… it's going to be longer for that," Dr. Fair sighed heavily. A second later he smiled, looking more cheerful. "Anyways! Tomorrow we will do some more x-rays on them and see how they look. But we want to give you a full proper day of rest and as much relaxation first."

"I don't know how much relaxation I can really get just being stuck here all day."

"Well there's not a lot I can say for right now on how to make you feel. I'm just the doctor guy after all."

"A rather odd and young doctor," Noctis commented softly. 

"Hey! What's wrong with being young and odd?" Dr. Fair asked as he pouted. 

Noctis raised an eyebrow at him. A doctor pouting as if he were a child? This guy really was weird. "I don't know… just never thought doctors would be this strange."

"Well we are all different and I just happen to be the strangest but coolest doctor you'll ever meet. And probably the most charismatic too!"

Noctis rolled his eyes at the doctor. Such a strange man, yet very friendly and easy going. "Sure. Whatever."

"Ahh alright, I'll leave you alone. But hey I'll be back later to check in with you. See you later Noctis," Dr. Fair said before he headed out of the room.

Now that he had his time to himself again he went right back to his phone. 

**Noctis:** okay I'm back 

**Prompto:** Woo! That's great to hear.  
**Prompto:** You were right when you hoped it would take long.  
**Prompto:** So what do you wanna do? Games or stuff?

**Noctis:** both always sounds good  
**Noctis:** could always just talk as well  
**Noctis:** I am curious after all 

**Prompto:** What? Curious? Like about what?

**Noctis:** you of course

The feeling had come to him out of the blue. He still wanted to play video games, but he also had this feeling to learn more. Prompto was still pretty mysterious to him and it made him feel all the more curious to learn more about him.

 **Noctis:** like I know you are named Prompto and have blond hair and blue eyes  
**Noctis:** and besides video games and homeschooling I don't know much else

**Prompto:** Does this have to do with being the prince still? Like you gotta do a background check on me or something?  
**Prompto:** OMG!  
**Prompto:** I'm not like going to have your secret body guards come after me or anything??  
**Prompto:** I don't think I can handle being interrogated!!!

Letting out a snort, Noctis started to type out his next bit of fun. 

**Noctis:** oh yes you tooootally gotta be integrated  
**Noctis:** *interrogated  
**Noctis:** all my big and scary guards will find you and ask you tons of questions >:)

**Prompto:** Nooooo! Dude don't do it!  
**Prompto:** I'm too young for this! I might die from the pressure!! DX

**Noctis:** nah you won't die  
**Noctis:** I wouldn't let that happen anyways 

**Prompto:** Aw thanks :)  
**Prompto:** I’m honored that the prince isn’t going to let me die via his scary guards interrogating me

**Noctis:** yeah yeah  
**Noctis:** but seriously you don't gotta worry, I don't have any super secret body guards  
**Noctis:** I got some people meant to protect me but nothing like what you see in the movies 

**Prompto:** Oh good good  
**Prompto:** So stuff about me then?  
**Prompto:** Um… what would you wanna know?

**Noctis:** idk maybe just things you like?

**Prompto:** I can do that!  
**Prompto:** My favorite creatures are chocobos!

**Noctis:** hm, interesting  
**Noctis:** I should have figured as much 

**Prompto:** Huh?!  
**Prompto:** What's that supposed to mean?

**Noctis:** well you do kind of look like a chocobo from your pics  
**Noctis:** with you golden hair and all

**Prompto:** I do not look like a chocobo!

**Noctis:** I bet if you spiked it up a bit you'd look even more like one

**Prompto:** >:(  
**Prompto:** Not funny man!

**Noctis:** what?  
**Noctis:** it's a compliment  
**Noctis:** you'd be a good chocobo 

**Prompto:** >:((((  
**Prompto:** But I dooooooon't look like a chocobo!

**Noctis:** sure you don't :P  
**Noctis:** but chocobos. They're cool. Ever get to ride one?

**Prompto:** No….. not yet….  
**Prompto:** I really really want to though.  
**Prompto:** I've heard they are super super soft!

**Noctis:** they were really soft and really friendly

**Prompto:** Dude! You've ridden one?  
**Prompto:** I mean of course you have! You're the prince! You probably got like your own stable for them or something, right?

**Noctis:** close  
**Noctis:** got a ranch just outside of Insomnia 

**Prompto:** OMG!! A PRIVATE RANCH??!  
**Prompto:** Sorry forgot to switch off caps lock!|  
**Prompto:** But a private chocobo ranch???

**Noctis:** yup  
**Noctis:** I bet you'd love it being with your own kind :)

**Prompto:** Hey!!

**Noctis:** maybe I could invite you out there sometime

Noctis stopped and stared at his message. Did he just… had he really just asked Prompto to hangout? That was pretty much what his message suggested. He still barely knew him and yet felt so comfortable and casually about asking him. There was no way he could take back the message now. All he could do was wait. Though slowly he started to feel uneasy the more time that passed where Prompto didn’t reply. There wasn’t even the pop up bubble saying that Prompto was typing anything. _“Maybe it was too sudden to ask? Maybe it’s awkward? Crap… what to do I? What do I say?”_

Eventually the little bubble popped up, giving some relief to Noctis, but it wasn’t all over yet. He still had to wait and see what Prompto’s reply would be. 

**Prompto:** You’d really… want me to come out there?  
**Prompto:** Like you would actually invite me? Even though we just started talking?

**Noctis:** yeah  
**Noctis:** plus you said you’ve never seen a chocobo before  
**Noctis:** I think it would be fun

**Prompto:** Oh.  
**Prompto:** I see. 

That brief moment in between messages brought back the uneasy feel tenfold in Noctis’s stomach. Quickly he thought to type out something that could ease up the tension. 

**Noctis:** hey sorry if it came off too sudden  
**Noctis:** I didn’t mean to make you unconformable or anything  
**Noctis:** I guess it can be a bit intimidating when the prince of all people invites you out of the blue, right?

**Prompto:** No no! It isn’t that!  
**Prompto:** It’s just…

 **Prompto:** I really really would wanna go  
**Prompto:** And it has nothing to do with you being the prince or anything! I actually think it’s totally awesome and I am not intimidated at all!  
**Prompto:** but there’s just one problem… 

**Noctis:** what is it?

With his heart pounding against his chest, he could only imagine what Prompto was going to say. Was it that his parents would say no? Or maybe he just lived too far away? Did he even live in Insomnia? There were far too many possibilities that were going unanswered while he waited. He knew he just had to give Prompto a few minutes, but right now those minutes felt like dreadful hours. 

**Prompto:** I don’t really think I could go  
**Prompto:** sigh…  
**Prompto:** I didn’t think I would talk about this any time soon, but…

 **Prompto:** I’m kind of in the hospital… have been for awhile… and I won’t probably be leaving any time soon…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe the cameo was too obvious lol. But if it not it was Zack Fair from FF7. I needed a doctor character for the spot, and I did recently draw Zack as a doctor [here](https://twitter.com/ClaireFdragon/status/1265746883181494273) so that's why he showed up as he did.
> 
> But now the twist has been revealed, hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much again for all your kind words! I am really glad everyone is enjoying the cute fluff of this. But we got a lot more fun to come! Here we go!

Noctis rubbed his eyes before staring at his phone screen. Had he really read that right or was he just seeing things? He blinked several more times before finally rereading the message. 

**Prompto:** I’m kind of in the hospital… have been for awhile… and I won’t probably be leaving any time soon…

Noctis read the message over and over again before he finally let go of the breath he was holding. _“Prompto’s in a hospital? What could he be in the hospital for?”_

Breathing out Noctis realized he had yet to reply. He was leaving Prompto on probably more of an edge than he had just felt. 

**Noctis:** hey, are you like… alright and stuff?

**Prompto:** I mean I am as well as I can get…  
 **Prompto:** Just doing what I can really.  
 **Prompto:** You’re not like mad or anything are you?

**Noctis:** no why would I be mad?

**Prompto:** Cause I’m just some kid who is stuck in the hospital.  
 **Prompto:** And no one wants to be friends with a kid always in the hospital. 

**Noctis:** that doesn’t matter!  
 **Noctis:** it doesn’t matter if you are sick or not!  
 **Noctis:** we’re friends, got it memorized?

A good few minutes went by again before Noctis saw Prompto starting to type. He could only take a guess, but he had the feeling from Prompto's words that no one really came to visit him. If that really was the case, though Noctis knew not to ask, he was going to change that.

 **Prompto:** You… really mean it?

**Noctis:** yeah  
 **Noctis:** and plus it means I could come visit you  
 **Noctis:** so you have a friend there to talk to :)

He knew it would be a while still before he was out of the hospital, but hopefully by then he could know more about Prompto. If he could meet him in person… would he really look as cute as he did in his picture? 

Noctis shook his head quickly, trying to get those thoughts out of there. It was not the time or place to be thinking such things. Being a good and supportive friend was the more important task at hand.

 **Prompto:** Wow.  
 **Prompto:** Sorry I just never expected to have anyone come and visit me other than family.

**Noctis:** well now you are getting your first visit from a friend  
 **Noctis:** at least when I can get a spot in my schedule open o.O  
 **Noctis:** but let me know where you're at so I can make the plans

**Prompto:** Oh yeah.  
 **Prompto:** I'm at Crown City Children’s Hospital.

Noctis nearly dropped his phone. Gawking he now was dumbstruck for the second time in less than an hour. _"He's at the same hospital as me?! He's actually here… somewhere in this hospital?"_

Now with the truth revealed, it started to open up more thoughts to mind. If he was in fact in the same hospital as Prompto, it would make visiting much easier and sooner. He knew it wouldn't be too much longer before he was given a wheelchair to move around when he didn't want to be contained to his room. With that freedom he could easily go and visit Prompto. 

But if that really was the case, that meant he'd have to tell his own truth to Prompto. He still felt uncertain letting others know about his accident, but he really did feel like he could trust Prompto. 

**Noctis:** hey you know…  
 **Noctis:** I guess I need to tell truth about something too

**Prompto:** Huh? What do you mean?

**Noctis:** you told me you were at a hospital  
 **Noctis:** what I'm going to tell you you can't tell anyone else, okay?

**Prompto:** Okay?  
 **Prompto:** I won't tell anyone, whatever it is.

**Noctis:** so the other day… I kind of did something stupid  
 **Noctis:** to keep it simple I got messed up pretty bad by some thugs  
 **Noctis:** and I'm currently recovering at the hospital now  
 **Noctis:** specially crown city children's hospital  
 **Noctis:** *specifically 

**Prompto:** So wait…!  
 **Prompto:** You're like… here at the same hospital?

**Noctis:** I guess so  
 **Noctis:** it makes it more fun anyways

**Prompto:** What do you mean more fun?

**Noctis:** cause now we could like visit each other  
 **Noctis:** hangout and stuff

Noctis stopped himself before he went on. Should he really be suggesting those things? He didn’t even know why Prompto was in the hospital. For all he knew he could have had some cancer or some other terminal illness. He did say that he had been there a while and probably would still stay for a while after all. But even with that there were still other possibilities. But he didn’t think it was right to ask. 

**Prompto:** You’d really wanna hangout with me?

**Noctis:** yeah of course!  
 **Noctis:** not only could we play games but it sure beats just sitting around all day all alone am I right?

**Prompto:** Yeah I guess so  
 **Prompto:** But I don’t have anything here besides my phone and some movies

**Noctis:** well that’s where I come in  
 **Noctis:** I have Ignis bringing me some games later  
 **Noctis:** only get 5 games though :,(

**Prompto:** Ignis?

**Noctis:** he's one of my retainers  
 **Noctis:** or adviser  
 **Noctis:** mom  
 **Noctis:** whatever you wanna call him  
 **Noctis:** but he's also one of my best friends

**Prompto:** mom???

**Noctis:** haha yeah  
 **Noctis:** he's pretty much that  
 **Noctis:** he's been watching over me since I was young  
 **Noctis:** since my dad is usually busy with king stuff

**Prompto:** Oh yeah I get it!  
 **Prompto:** Lol that's pretty funny you call him a mom.  
 **Prompto:** But aww that sucks only 5 games, better choose some good ones!

**Noctis:** well that's why I thought to ask you  
 **Noctis:** so when he brings them here we can play them 

**Prompto:** I still can't believe you'd wanna hangout and play with me.  
 **Prompto:** Like that's a lot to take in all in one day!

At this point, Noctis wasn't sure if Prompto was ever going to bring up his reasons for being in the hospital. Slowly he started thinking of a way he could ask but without actually asking. 

**Noctis:** well yeah!  
 **Noctis:** plus I'm sure the doctors would let us  
 **Noctis:** it's not like you got the chocobo pox or anything 

**Noctis:** right?

**Prompto:** Oh  
 **Prompto:** Oh yeah..  
 **Prompto:** Yeah you don't have to worry… it's nothing contagious…  
 **Prompto:** But I'd rather not talk about it…

**Noctis:** oh… sorry

**Prompto:** No it's okay…  
 **Prompto:** You didn't know anyways  
 **Prompto:** It's just hard for me to talk about…

Noctis sighed, feeling heavy in his chest. He really didn't want to pressure Prompto, he knew that he shouldn't. It did make him feel a little better than it wasn't contagious, whatever it is. That would make visiting probably much more easier. But with that it still worried him just what it was.

 **Noctis:** well we don't need to talk about it!  
 **Noctis:** we can tlak about what games instead  
 **Noctis:** *talk  
 **Noctis:** I'll send you a list of what I got and you pick your top 5, okay?

After that Noctis sent his list of all the games he owned. It ended up being a long list but he wanted to give Prompto as much choice as he could. Once he had decided the five he liked the most, Noctis switched to his chat with Ignis to tell him about what games he wanted, and also to ask about desserts.

 **Specs:** Noted. I will be around later today to bring the supplies then.  
 **Specs:** I'll send a message most likely once I am on my way. Hopefully there won't be anything that comes up to conflict at the time. 

**Noctis:** well I know I got nothing at least going on today

**Specs:** I know. The doctor has forwarded me the outlined schedule for your recovery.  
 **Specs:** I hope at least you are being cooperative.

**Noctis:** I'm 15 not 5  
 **Noctis:** I know to listen to the doctors  
 **Noctis:** I'm not going to fight them or anything 

**Specs:** I would hope not.  
 **Specs:** But I shall begin to gather your items then. It will still be a while as I have some paperwork to finish, but it shouldn't take much longer. 

**Noctis:** just do what you can  
 **Noctis:** I'll be here of course 

After that Noctis closed his phone and stared up at the ceiling, still trying to absorb everything. Prompto was here. He was here in the same hospital but most likely another floor or section. Noctis only had a guess that Prompto was on one of the long term floors like he was, given the way he said things. It still seemed so crazy though. He met someone new by Gladio screwing up the numbers, and that new someone just so happened to also be in the hospital. 

Sudden Noctis had a thought. He reopened his phone and went to his photo gallery. Maybe it was a bit weird to do it, but he had actually saved Prompto's photos once they really stared to get buried under all the other texts. He wanted an easy quick look at Prompto in case he ever felt like it… just so he could feel that warm feeling again. 

This time as he looked at the photo he noticed how well taken the pictures were. They were taking in such a way that Noctis couldn't see anything but Prompto's face and a beige wall behind him. The angle made it impossible to tell that he was in a hospital. 

But at least he was smiling again at the photos of Prompto. 

_"Who would have thought it… like what are the chances? Just can't believe it."_

With a sigh Noctis went online to try and focus his mind on something else. He just wanted to space out for a while as everything settled. He figured Prompto needed time too after the sudden revelation. 

Time passed and eventually he went back to chatting with Prompto, letting him know he told Ignis about the games. After that they divulged into a long series of talks about their favorite video games with the most complicated plots. There were quite a lot of them and a lot of insane plot points that they enjoyed trying to comprehend.

After a while lunch came for Noctis, and Prompto too, but they still kept on chatting. At some point Noctis heard a knock on his door. He looked up to see that Dr. Fair had returned and was stepping into the room.

Noctis looked down at his phone. 

**Noctis:** gotta brb again  
 **Noctis:** doctor is here to talk 

It really felt nice to say it openly now rather than hide it. No need to hide anything at least. 

Dr. Fair came to the bed and pulled up a chair this time. "See? Told you I'd be back."

"Yeah I see that."

"Everything still as best as it can be? Did you enjoy the lunch?"

"It was fine," Noctis said. "So… do you like have anything else to tell me or…?"

"Well nothing super important. But I said I'd be back to check in on you. You're my patient so I gotta make sure you are doing okay. Plus it's not everyday you get to just talk to the Crown Prince of all people. So I guess you could say I'm pretty excited."

Noctis rolled his eyes. "Well I wouldn't say I'm all that exciting."

"Aw sure you are. You probably got a lot of cool things to talk about. Or maybe instead you wanna hear about me?"

Noctis stared long and hard at the doctor. "Why are you doing this?"

"Cause I told you. You're my patient and I just want to make your time here as easy and fun as possible," Dr. Fair answered. "So why don't you ask me something. It can be anything you wanna know."

 _"Anything?"_ That got the gears in Noctis's head turning. He wasn't too sure about it but he thought to take the chance. 

"Well… I guess there is one thing. But I don't know if it's like legal to ask or anything." He saw Dr. Fair gave him a strange look so he went on as quickly as he could. "But I got this friend and I just kind of found out he is in the hospital… this hospital. He didn't really talk about it before so I didn't know 'till now."

"Ooh! I got it! You wanna probably see your friend right? Well there's nothing wrong with that. I can totally arrange it so you guys can visit."

Noctis sighed, thankful it was going easier than he expected. At least now he'd be able to see Prompto in person. "You really could do that?"

"Yeah of course. It would be good anyways to keep the spirits up instead of just sitting alone," Dr. Fair said as he grinned. "So what's your friend's name. Maybe he is actually one of my patients."

"Oh, he's Prompto-" Noctis only then came to realize he never asked Prompto for his last name. Though he could only hope that it wasn't a common name with five other Promptos also in the hospital. 

"Prompto!" Dr. Fair almost shouted. "I should have guessed. You guys totally make sense as friends. I can get that all arranged then for you two. I know it would really cheer up Prompto a lot."

 _"Well it looks like I got really lucky here,"_ Noctis thought to himself as he watched Dr. Fair get up from his seat. "I'll go and see if I can grab him now."

He was out of the room before Nocits could even ask anything else. Reaching for his phone, Noctis started considering whether or not he should tell Prompto. Tell him that the rather energetic Dr. Fair was coming? Would it seem weird or something else? What if Prompto said no? What if he didn't actually want to come?

_"Breathe Noctis… it's not the end of the world if he says no."_

But it would still hurt if he did.

Though he didn't have to dwell on it for long because Dr. Fair appeared back in the doorway. He was smiling happily like a kid that has had too much sugar. Honestly the strangest doctor Noctis ever met. 

"And we're back!' Dr. Fair exclaimed happily. He stepped back a bit and let someone else step forward. 

The pictures didn’t do him justice. Noctis’s breath hitched when he first caught sight of Prompto, standing there and looking shy. He was roughly the same height, though his shoulders hunched forward bashfully. His frame was on the scrawny side, and his skin slightly pale, but he still managed to appear cheerful despite whatever it was that he had, cracking a meek smile and fidgeting slightly in place.

What truly staggered Noctis, though, was his face. Noctis couldn’t help but stare, taking in his every feature. His wispy blond hair hung down over his forehead, almost shielding his vibrant blue eyes. His cheeks were blushing a faint shade of pink, all the way to his ears. Prompto was every bit as cute in person as he was in the photos, and more. He was soft and youthful in a way no camera or phone could ever capture. For a moment, Noctis was speechless.

Finally one of them broke the silence. 

"Uh hey Noctis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is it that Prompto has? What could he be in the hospital for? That is the secret for next time cause I am cruel and left it on a cliffhanger like this :D
> 
> Edit: Also I forgot but my good friend [Ostelan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OstelanExcruciasm/pseuds/OstelanExcruciasm) helped me out with the Prompto description at the end there.


	5. Chapter 5

_"Uh hey Noctis."_

Noctis was hearing his voice. For the first time he heard what Prompto sounded like and it was beautiful. His voice was soft and high pitched, but it matched with his appearance. There was a slight bit of nervousness in his tone, but he seemed to be holding on to some confidence.

"Hey Prompto," Noctis said, trying to sound as natural and nonchalant as he could.

"Alright!" Dr. Fair interrupted. "I'll let you guys hang out and have fun. See you later!"

With that he was gone, leaving the two boys alone. Prompto stared at the floor again, seeming like he was trying to shrink back against the wall. He didn't move from his spot nor look at Noctis again. But after a moment he breathed in and was looking forward again.

Slowly he came more into the room, pulling along a IV stand along with him. Noctis assumes that Prompto would have one, but what he didn't expect was what was hooked up on it. There was one packet of the clear saline solution, that one was obvious, but the other not so much. The other packet was a blood packet. He had a blood packet pumping blood into him.

Noctis had to bite his tongue from asking. "So um hey."

"You said that already," Prompto said before chuckling slightly. "So you're really… well you."

 _"Oh gods his laugh,"_ Noctis thought to himself. He found himself wanting to hear it again. He needed a way to hear Prompto laugh more. Just to hear that gentle laugh.

"What? Did you not actually believe it was me still?"

"I mean…" Prompto sat down in the chair next to the bed. "I guess you could say I was a bit doubtful. Or maybe more worried I was dreaming it all. Like seriously you get texted by the prince one day and the very next day you get to go and meet him? That's a lot to take in!"

"I guess, but I wouldn't really know. Haven't had other princes randomly text me in my life."

Prompto snorted at that, it was close enough for now. "Well I guess there is always a first for everything. But like yeah, this is crazy to think that I'm meeting you. And you know… it's a place like this of all places. Which I guess isn't like the worst place to meet someone. I mean like at least we didn't randomly meet, uh I don't know like in a public bathroom or something."

Cracking a small smile, Noctis let out his own laugh. Prompto talked just as much as he rambled in his messages. It was good though. He wanted to hear more of his voice anyways. "That would be pretty awkward."

"So this is not like the worse thing… well you know aside from what happened to you." Prompto's eyes were scanning over Noctis's face, no doubt wondering about all the bruises, scars, and stitches he saw. "I'm sorry. I didn't get to say that before."

Noctis shook his head. "Nah it's fine. It's not your fault or anything. I told you…" shifting slightly he closed his eyes. "It was my fault. I made a stupid choice and this is what happened. But hey… I guess it isn't all too bad."

"Why's that?"

"I got to meet you cause of it."

Noctis smiled warmly at Prompto and he could see that he was now blushing. The red was burning through his cheeks. "Y-Yeah. That's good yeah."

A moment of silence passed between the boys. Eventually Prompto's blush faded and he started to look far more solemn. He glanced up at his IV stand and then to Noctis. "You're probably curious right…? Seeing me in person you can tell it's more serious than I made it out."

"Are you sure? I mean like, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

Prompto shook his head. "Nah, you should know the truth. Better to be honest you know? Well… the truth." He breathed out slowly before looking Noctis in the eyes. "Yeah the truth… what I have is… I have the Starscourge."

Noctis's eyes widened all while Prompto lowered his head, looking ashamed.

The Starscourge… a very complicated disease that currently had no proper cure. It was not a contagious disease that could be passed easily from person to person, with the only way being through the blood, but it could end up being very lethal to the host. It mutated the blood, changing it to a point that it could kill the body from the inside. Noctis had seen pictures in the news before about it… horrifying images of people bleeding blood that had turned black

_"That's why he has that blood packet…"_

With the Starscourge ruining the blood, the need to keep fresh clean blood was the most important part. There were other side effects to having the Starscourge like cold sweats, weakness in the muscles, and other various symptoms that could be seen in other illnesses, but it always seemed far worse.

Noctis opened his mouth. He felt like he needed to say something, but what do you say to someone with a detrimental illness like the Starscourge? Especially since Prompto was just a teen like him. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to have that.

"You don't have to say that you're sorry for me…" Prompto muttered. "I've heard it enough from everyone else. It doesn't really do anything anyway."

Clenching a fist, Noctis fought off the urge to say that he was sorry. He didn't want to upset Prompto anymore that he already was, but he just couldn't shake the thoughts away. Prompto… a boy his age has been stuck in the hospital for who knows how long because he had some horrible incurable disease. How much of his life had he been missing out on? Just how long had he been stuck here? As much as Noctis wanted to ask these questions and more, he knew that he couldn't.

"Ah well… um okay… Ah…"

"Maybe I should just go. I… I made this awkward didn't I?" Prompto laughed weakly. It wasn't sweet sounding like before with it instead leaving a lingering pain in Nocits's heart. Prompto stood up as he looked away from him. "I think I'll leave."

"No wait!" Noctis reached forward and grabbed onto Prompto's arm. "Don't leave. Please."

Breathing in slowly Noctis tried to continue. "We don't need to keep thinking about that other stuff. We were going to play games and stuff, remember? Just some fun stuff so we don't go insane from boredom."

Sitting back down Prompto started to smile again. "I'd like that. We still have more we could talk about. Plus it would be really nice to not go insane for a day."

Both of them were laughing now, and it made the tightness in Noctis's chest fade. He got another laugh and a smile from Prompto again and it warmed up his heart once more. "We could play some more King's Knight if you wanted or maybe some other game since we pretty much have identical interests. Or if you wanted to do the other thing we could. I'm sure you really have a lot of questions for me. If you want, I'd be glad to answer them."

"Wait, like I could ask you questions about being a prince and stuff?"

"Yeah sure, if you want to."

In most cases Noctis hated having to talk about his princely life. He usually ignored people in school when they came up to pester him, asking him tons of questions about himself. Usually he would do all he could to avoid all questions about his personal life, but for Prompto, he felt it wouldn't be annoying at all. With Prompto… it just felt different with him and Noctis couldn't explain why.

"Well okay Noctis! I can do that! Uh let's see though… what to ask…"

"Also," Noctis interjected quickly. "You can just call me Noct. It's easier that way."

For some reason that made Prompto's cheeks turn red again. "I-I can? O-Okay, I'll do that." Breathing in several times, Promtpo finally seemed to regain his composure. "So… what's it like being a prince? I mean how do you live your life? Is the Citadel really that large and impressive as it looks on TV?"

"Whoa whoa, slow your chocobs," Noctis chuckled. "I think we should start off with one question at a time. I don't need you to ramble my ears off, I'd kind of like to keep them."

"Oh! Makes sense man. Sorry, I guess I am still like super nervous with this."

"Nah it's okay. It's kind of cute."

Noctis tensed when he saw Prompto's eyes widen within a second. He covered his mouth, unable to believe that those words had just left his lips. " _Did I really just say that out loud? Did I really just admit that to him?!"_

"Uh… wh-what? It's what?" Prompto asked, sounding completely caught up in disbelief.

"Ah! Nothing! I didn't say anything!" Noctis said far quicker than he should have.

"No you said something! You can't hide it!" Prompto nearly shouted. "You said it was cute! You think my nervousness is cute?!"

"And if I did?!" Noctis shouted in return. He had tried to keep his own cool, but his heart was racing far too quickly. Thankfully it did not seem to be triggering anything on his heart rate monitor. He couldn't bear the thought of having to explain it.

Why was his heart rate escalated? Oh it's just because he told a cute boy out loud that he was cute. How silly and embarrassing would that sound! Honestly there could have been a lot worse things that could have happened, but this would still be pretty bad.

"Well you know…" Prompto faulted. "I just… I didn't expect you to say that. I mean…" He breathed in and out slowly. "Did you really mean it?"

" _At least he doesn't sound offended…"_ Noctis sighed with relief. " _But now he's asking… geez what do I say and all… But if I made it this far… might as well go through with it at this point."_

Taking in his own deep breath he finally found the strength to look Prompto back in the eye. "Yeah. I did mean it. Sorry… if it's weird or stuff… I just don't know why I even said it."

"No, it's okay…" Prompto said, his voice barely above a whisper. The color of red dusted his cheeks once again. "I didn't expect it. That's all it was."

"So," Noctis cleared his throat, hoping he could change the subject. "You wanted to know what it was like being a prince?"

Prompto nodded but didn't say another word.

"Well it isn't as fancy and glamorous as the media always tries to make it out to be. There's a lot of really boring meetings that my father makes me sit through from time to time. But on the other hand, I get personal combat training you know."

"Wow, but that's like all cause you got that power right? Like the power that your family has or something?"

"Yeah," Noctis shrugged. "But I can't access that power until I turn sixteen. Trust me I've tried… if I did have access to that power right now then maybe… maybe things could have gone differently…" Slowly his eyes shifted away again, this time stared to the other side of the room.

"H-Hey! Ah… man I guess I really must suck at this…" Prompto replied.

Noctis turned back to look at him. "Why would you say that?"

"I keep making things awkward with what I say. I didn't want to make you upset. Maybe I really should just leave…"

"No. Please don't… I'd really like it if you stayed."

"Really?"

Noctis nodded, offering a smile. "Yeah. It's really nice to have a friend here."

Prompto suddenly wiped his eyes, trying to stop what Noctis could only presume to be tears. "Thanks. I… I don't mean to cry or anything. It's just really nice to hear that to hear that… to actually have a friend to talk to here. I meant it when I said I really only had family visit me, mainly just my brother. I mean sure I can talk to the doctors and nurses, they are all nice and stuff. But most of the time I am just by myself. So this… this it's nice to know."

A small twinge of pain hit Noctis in his chest. He felt a heavy bit of sorrow sink in for Prompto, hearing this small confession from him. He still didn't know how long Prompto had been at the hospital, but he could tell it really had been taking a toll on the poor guy's mind. While it wasn't the exact same, Noctis could almost understand Prompto. That feeling of loneliness with barely having anyone to be your friend. No real connections besides a few. Noctis totally could relate to how Prompto must have been feeling.

Giving another smile, Noctis sat up and leaned over closer to Prompto. Without giving him any warning, he carefully wrapped his arms around him, careful not to pull at any of the IVs. Prompto was slightly startled though, Noctis could feel him flinch at first. Yet he didn't pull away or say anything. He stayed there in Noctis's small hug, and sure enough after a few seconds he finally placed his arms around Noctis and held him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter went away from the texting and all, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! Thank you all seriously so much for your kind words. It really makes me happy seeing how much you guys love this, and I hope you guys keep on enjoying what I have planned.   
> Also yeah when coming to decide what Prompto's illness would be, I set on making up something but still using those elements from canon. 
> 
> Speaking of plans, Prompto's brother... for a digital cookie (the food kind of course) anyone wanna guess who he might be? (hint: I do like my cameos like Dr. Zack) :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I am just so happy seeing everyone enjoying this story. All of your kind words and kudos really make this, so thank you!!

Noctis stayed still as he felt Prompto rest against him. The guy had started to tremble slightly so Noctis tried to hold him a little tighter. "Hey, if you wanna cry or something, it's okay. I won't judge."

There was a small whimper before it was followed by a sob. It seemed that Prompto had been doing his best to hold it back, but now it was out in the open. He could feel Prompto gripping his shirt now as he was sobbing into his shoulder. " _Man… he really must be overwhelmed or something… Shit I really wish I knew how to handle this better…"_

He stayed there though, with his hands moving slowly up and down on Promtpo's back. He could recall when he was younger his father would do this whenever he was sad. It was a comforting motion, to have the back rubbed, so he could only hope that it would help Promtpo feel better.

Eventually Prompto's raspy sobs did come to a stop and he started to pull away from Noctis. His eyes were now red with his cheeks looking a little puffy. Carefully and slowly he went to wipe away the remaining tears that stuck to his face. "Aw man, I probably look pretty stupid right now. Like a real big cry baby or something."

Shaking his head, Noctis looked right at Prompto. "Nah, you're not that. If you didn't cry, then you wouldn't really be human would you?"

"I… I guess you're right. I'm sorry though that happened…"

"I told you," Noctis said as he reached out to Prompto again, this time placing a hand on top of his shoulder. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm not one to judge."

With a thankful sigh, a smile graced Prompto's lips. "Thanks."

"Now…" Noctis hummed. He could still see that Prompto was a bit wary or upset. He knew that there had to be some way to cheer him up. Some way to brighten up this cute blond's spirits. After a moment of thought he finally had an idea. Taking out his phone he started typing in something in his search bar. "Since you know some stuff about me, you know of the Crownsguard?"

"Well yeah, they are like uh… the bodyguards to the royal family or something?"

"That's the easiest way to put it. But like you know they are always super serious because of it, right?"

"Yeah? And… where is this leading? Cause honestly I got no idea what you are trying to get at."

"You wanna see some private videos that I have access to where you can see the Crownsguard acting like complete idiots?," Noctis said before smirking.

"What? Like seeing bloopers for actors in a movie or something?"

"Like that sure."

"But like… wouldn't we get into trouble for watching that stuff? Wouldn't it be, you know top secret or… oh wait. You're the prince. You can get access to that stuff."

Noctis laughed. Prompto was different than anyone else he had met for sure. Promtpo didn't see him as a prince nor treated him like one. He just treated him like a regular guy and he couldn't appreciate that enough. It really felt nice to just be seen as a person and not have to try to be what people would just expect of him based on his lineage.

"All right, get close so you can see this. You're going to love this," Noctis said as he turned to sit a little more on his side.

"Right! Though… one sec…" Prompto got up from where he was sitting and moved across the room. Noctis watched as Prompto made it over to the window and pulled the curtains shut.

He was curious at first why Prompto was doing that, but then it clicked in his mind. The sun was shining through the window slightly, and would only proceed to shine in more as the day would go on since his window faced the direction the sun set. With the Starscourge, one of the hardest symptoms was an aversion to sunlight.

But that only stirred up the thoughts in Noctis's head. " _If his stage of the Starscourge is that bad… How long has it been since he has been outside?"_

Biting his tongue, he repressed his urge to ask. He wasn't going to make the situation uncomfortable again. The plan was to laugh and have fun, and it looked like Prompto could really use some good laughs.

Now seated again, Prompto scooted himself closer and leaned closer to Noctis so he could see the screen better. "All right I'm ready."

Noctis nodded, giving an excited smile before he finally clicked the play button on the first video in the list.

* * *

Ignis had expected to find Noctis doing one of three things; watching TV, sleeping, or being on his phone. Now he did find him on his phone, but what he did not expect was to see a young boy about Noct's age sitting next to the bed.

The two of them were staring at something on Noctis's screen, laughing at whatever had to have been so funny. While the moment seemed pleasant, Ignis cleared his throat and drew the attention of the two.

Noctis started wide eyed now that he saw that Ignis was in the room. "Ah Ignis! I didn't know you'd be here!"

"I am sure that I informed you that I would be coming later today, and I did send you a message once I was on my way," Ignis replied.

"O-Oh yeah!" Nocits swiped down and looked at the notifications he had muted during the time he was watching videos. Ignis had in fact sent him the messages saying that he was on the way. "I guess I kind of forgot."

"Well no matter, I am here now and I have brought what you requested." Ignis held up a large bag that no doubt had the games he wanted as well as the device to play them on. In his other hand was another bag which Noctis could only hope were the desserts he asked for and the other non gaming items. "But I must ask, who is with you now?"

"Oh, this is Prompto. Uh… we kind of met randomly the other day," Noctis said as he trailed off.

He knew if he told Ignis the truth, there would be no doubt a background back placed on Prompto. Ignis was his adviser as well as one of his retainers and only wanted what was best for him, and that meant safety was a top priority. But at the same time, not telling the truth would only make it more suspicious. Either way it was a tough situation that he really didn't want to have to deal with or put Prompto through it.

He knew there was no other way, but he could at least try to dance around the subject for now. "We met the other day, kind of a funny story behind it and we've just been talking since."

"I see."From Ignis's tone was clear that he was already suspicious. He adjusted his glasses before walking into the room further and placing the bags down on the nearby table.

"Um, you think maybe I should go now?" Prompto asked softly. "I… I don't really wanna interrupt anything."

"No, I said we were going to play games, remember? You can't just leave. Don't let Ignis scare you," Noctis leaned in closer to Prompto's ear. "He's just the mom, remember?"

"Yeah," Prompto whispered back, trying his best not to chuckle. "But moms can still be pretty scary."

Ignis cleared his throat. "And you do know that this ' _mom_ ' can hear you, correct?"

"Ah lighten up Specs, I'm just joking around."

"So you say," Ignis replied, hardly believing Noctis for a single minute. "Shall I set up the television for your games?"

"Yeah, go ahead. The sooner the better."

Ignis silently walked over to the TV with the device in hand. While he did that, Noctis started to eye the second bag. He looked over to Prompto and pointed to it. "Hey, could you maybe see what's in the other bag there?"

"Oh, sure."

Prompto moved over there and opened up the bag. "Wow, there's these little pastry looking things. They look pretty good."

"Yeah, you wanna have one?"

"Noct," Ignis tried to interrupt.

"What is it now?" Noctis rolled his eyes. "You made a couple right? I can give one to my friend if I want to."

"That isn't what I meant," Ignis said as he turned around. "If you had kindly let my finish, I was going to ask if you knew if it was even safe for your friend to eat one. I know it isn't any of my business, but with the IV you wheel around with you, one might assume you have a diet depending on what is required."

Prompto stared down at the bag before slowly closing. He sighed but didn't even move from his spot. "I think I can have some sweets, it's not like it's bad for me, but I don't know…"

"Well couldn't we ask the doctors or something?"

Prompto shook his head quickly before making his way back to the bed. "No, we don't have to bother them. It's all right."

Noctis could tell that Prompto felt a little uncomfortable. He could see the tension in his body movements and facial, but he couldn't quite piece it together as to why. He had a feeling at least that his reaction was due to Ignis being in the room, but other than that he couldn't figure anything else out.

"Hey it's okay. We can figure out food later."

"Yeah… Oh shoot! You didn't want one right now did you?"

"Nah, it's okay I can wait until later to eat it. But I was going to ask if you wanted to pick out the first game to play."

"Got it, I guess I'll go and do that then."

Prompto got back up and moved over to the bag that had the games. As he looked between the five games that had been brought, Ignis finished hooking up the gaming system. Now Noctis could see that Ignis was really eyeing Prompto suspiciously before turning to Noctis to give him an equally suspicious glare.

"If you don't mind me asking something again, Prompto…" Ignis said, drawing the attention of the blond. "I don't believe I got your full name yet."

Noctis whined slightly. Of course Ignis was still going to ask that. He was still going to get the name so he could do a background check. So much for trying to avoid it.

"O-Oh. Prompto Argentum Strife."

"Hmm, I see." Ignis pressed his lips into a fine line, no doubt memorizing the name for later. Though his mood shifted suddenly and he walked towards Noctis. "Noct, your father is going to try and visit you in the next couple days."

"Oh really?" Noctis raised an eyebrow. "He's actually going to take time away from his work? Like he can actually do that."

"He can if he wills it, especially if it has to do with the safety of his son."

"Yeah yeah, whatever I know."

Noctis knew that his father did probably care. He knew that his fathr always had been kind throughout his entire life, but there still were just those times where he got too caught up in work and everything felt distant between them. Noctis really knew that his father wouldn't just give up on him, but there were just those days where doubt seeped in.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Prompto standing awkwardly. This was still not the situation he had expected to happen and he could tell Prompto probably felt out of place. But with Ignis looming over them, there wasn't much else he could do.

"Is there anything else you needed to tell me?" He didn't really want to push Ignis away like that, he was his friend after all. But he also didn't want to leave Prompto feeling out of place.

"Yes actually, but it was to be more of a private matter."

Now Noctis could see Prompto was shifting in place. "You know Noct? I'll just come back another day. I can see that you got some stuff to talk about. Just text me about it?" Prompto placed the game back down in the bag. "I'll see you later I guess."

He scurried out of the room before Noctis could say goodbye, not that Prompto even remembered to say it himself. Now that it was just him and Ignis had shot the older man a glare. Though really he was just two years older than Noctis, making him 17, he still acted like he was an adult already.

"You didn't have to scare him off like that."

"I did nothing of the sort."

"Yeah you did," Noctis grumbled. "He felt nervous all of a sudden and then he left cause you started asking him questions and stuff. You seriously going to do a background check on him?"

"I must Noct, you know we can't let there be any possible threats to the Crown."

"He's not a threat! He's just another kid like me who had some really stupid stuff happen to him."

"I will see once I check into it."

"You _don't_ have to check into it. I know he is a good person."

"Oh he is? Then do tell me how you two met, you told me it was quite the hilarious story after all."

He let out a long sigh. There was the thought to keep on avoiding the question, but Noctis knew when he had to just admit it. Hiding the truth only made it seem worse when it really wasn't. "Okay… fine. Gladio fat fingered his number yesterday and when I thought I was texting him I ended up texting Prompto by accident. We just texted and that's when I found out he was here in the hospital. He's just a lonely kid who needs a friend since he is stuck here all the time."

Noctis wasn't ready to tell Ignis what it was that Prompto had. That was personal information after all, but if there was a background check… Ignis was just going to find out that way. Though Noctis could only imagine what Ignis's reaction would be. Everyone knew it was not directly contagious, but still so many would be wary or precocious of it.

"Noct, you should have told me or Gladio that there was an error with the number right away. That way we could-"

"You could have what?" Noctis snapped. "You could have blocked my number from him? Prevented me from actually making a new friend?"

"That was not what I was going to say."

"I can't just spend all day here talking to no one. I know I can just text you guys, but you guys can't always just come here whenever."

"Noct, I understand the want to have some socialization. But this is the first friend you have properly made as far as my knowledge goes. So forgive me for wanting to go about it as safely as I can."

"Sure…" Noctis muttered. He did want to believe Ignis, he knew what the guy was trying to get at, but he knew that his duty to protect him as the prince came first. That's how it always felt anyways.

"So now that we have gotten that taken care of, let me inform you of the plan that we have begun to prepare."

"Plan?"

"The plan to help you recover easily in your rehabilitation when that time comes."

"Oh… okay…" Noctis muttered. His eyes drifted over to his phone. It hadn't buzzed with a message yet, and he was wondering if Prompto was going to send one back anytime soon. Maybe he would have to send the message first, but not when Ignis was around. It would have to be later.

He had tried his best to listen to everything Ignis had to tell him, and he tried his best to give what would be the most proper response. Eventually it just ended up into them casually talking, which was much easier for Noctis to focus on. When he could just laugh and make jokes with Ignis… those were the easiest times. He just wanted to relax and have fun, so he was sure to embrace these moments as best as he could.

But things always had to come to an end. His moment of relaxation and good times would always end at some point. Visiting hours were over and that meant Igins had to leave. "You sure you can't stay? I wanted to go another round in King's Knight."

"I'm sorry Noct," Ignis said as he sat up. "But we must abide by the hospital's rules. I will be sure to visit again as soon as I am able. But one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't forget your father will be coming to visit you soon. It is hard for him to get a break from the council breathing down his back, but he does wish to come and see you. So do not be too hard on him."

That brought up Noctis's spirits a little bit when he thought about it again. Even if he was always buried in work, he did try to find time for his son. Those moments they did share together when they could have them where what reassured him that he knew his father cared.

"All right, thanks," Nocits replied with a nod. "See you."

Ignis nodded. "Have a goodnight Noct."

As soon as Ignis had left the room, Noctis grabbed his phone and opened it up. There were no new messages from Prompto at all, but he clicked on their chat and began to type.

 **Noctis:** hey  
 **Noctis:** you still awake?

He waited a few minutes before he added a few more messages just to be safe.

 **Noctis:** sorry if Iggy scared you off  
 **Noctis:** he may seem all cold and stiff but like

 **Noctis:** he's a good guy on the inside

 **Noctis:** just takes a bit to get to know him

After one more minute of holding his breath, he finally saw the little text bubble pop up. He exhaled as he waited for Prompto's messages to show up.

 **Prompto:** Oh! It's okay!  
 **Prompto:** I just got a little too nervous I guess! Haha!  
 **Prompto:** Meeting so many important people I guess can be a bit too much at times XD  
 **Prompto:** Who would have thought I got to meet the prince AND his royal advise mom  
 **Prompto:** *adviser mom

 **Noctis:** lol yeah  
 **Noctis:** but you doing okay?

 **Prompto:** Yeah, I'm fine.  
 **Prompto:** I'm sorry for running out like I did though.  
 **Prompto:** Hope that everything went okay.

 **Noctis:** yeah you didn't miss much  
 **Noctis:** just a lot of stuff for me and what I'll be doing once I recover  
 **Noctis:** fun stuff woo *sarcastic*

 **Prompto:** Lol!!!  
 **Prompto:** So um…  
 **Prompto:** Even though I ran out a bit early, I still had a lot of fun watching those videos

 **Noctis:** me too  
 **Noctis:** you think you wanna hang out again?  
 **Noctis:** I mean we kind of half to anyways since I got my games now  
 **Noctis:** *have to

 **Prompto:** You still wanna hang out with me?  
 **Prompto:** Like you really would want me around again?

 **Noctis:** yes! don't let yourself think otherwise!  
 **Noctis:** so you'll come by tomorrow?  
 **Noctis:** I'm sure if you ask that dr fair guy again he would say yes

 **Prompto:** Lol yeah you are right about that!  
 **Prompto:** You should have seen him when he ran in here today saying "omg you're friends with the prince?! Why didn't you tell meeeeeee?!"  
 **Prompto:** Literally like that.

 **Noctis:** omg is this guy even a real doctor?  
 **Noctis:** never heard of one acting like that

 **Prompto:** He's a cool guy.  
 **Prompto:** He's just a bit overly excited sometimes.  
 **Prompto:** My brother says he is pretty much a puppy in human form.

 **Noctis:** I can see it lol  
 **Noctis:** well at least we know he can help

 **Prompto:** Yup!  
 **Prompto:** So I guess I'll be back tomorrow.

 **Noctis:** good  
 **Noctis:** I'll see you then

 **Prompto:** Yeah.  
 **Prompto:** Sounds good.

Noctis started at his phone, trying to think of what else to add. He felt like there had to be something. But maybe he was really just overthinking it. Slowly he decided to just type out what was on his mind.

 **Noctis:** goodnight prompto

 **Prompto:** Goodnight dude!

With the good nights out of the way Noctis could finally close his phone. He put it back on the dresser next to the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The day had been long, but at the same time fun and fast. He had actually met Prompto, and seeing the boy in person tugged at his heart. Still he kept trying to ignore it, but he knew what it was trying to tell him.

He knew he thought Prompto was cute, and he was already finding a fondness for his personality too. The guy was cheerful though a bit shy at times, but what Noctis admired most was just how naturally Prompto talked to him. The way he interacted, while still nervous about being in front of him because he was the prince, he still never treated him _like_ a prince. That was the thing that stood out the most to Noctis. Finally someone who was just seeing him and not his role. It was refreshing… plus as he thought before, Prompto was awfully cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got back to the texting at least lol. But I still will be switching back and forth as the story progresses, the texting was just the catalyst that started everything :)
> 
> To answer my AN from last time, yes in fact it is Cloud of course as the older brother. I hope all these little FF7 cameo mentions are okay lol. I just find it fun since it is an AU to add a little of a background for all of this. 
> 
> Finally I don't normally get out chapters so quickly, but I just had gotten a really good binge out on this story so far. Updates may be slower at times, as I do work on my other stories, but I will see you all next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I express so much thanks to everyone for reading this story. For my first FF15 I am glad that so many are enjoying it. Anyways onward to the chapter!!

Noctis was woken up the next morning as he expected. Despite the urge to go back to sleep he decided to stay awake again. Not only did he wanna text Prompto but the nurses reminded him of what they were doing to do today.

**Noctis:** hey prompto you awake yet?

**Prompto:** Yeah!  
**Prompto:** Good morning Noct!!

**Noctis:** thanks but I'd still rather sleep till noon

**Prompto:** Ooh yeah I getcha! Lol!  
**Prompto:** You really love to sleep don't you?

**Noctis:** yessssss  
**Noctis:** but uuuuugh can't today again  
**Noctis:** they gotta take xrays today for the stuff

**Prompto:** Oh the stuff?  
**Prompto:** Oh oh! Ah yeah I almost forgot!  
**Prompto:** Sorry!!

**Noctis:** why are you sorry?

**Prompto:** Cause I shouldn't be asking what you need xrayed.  
**Prompto:** It's none of my business after all. 

**Noctis:** nah you don’t gotta be sorry  
**Noctis:** you know I am here after all for some reason  
**Noctis:** I trust you at least

  
  


**Prompto:** Wow, you would actually trust me?  
**Prompto:** I’ve been trusted by the prince! I feel so honored!! :)  
**Prompto:** That’s like probably the best thing ever.   
**Prompto:** Aside from chocobos. 

**Noctis:** you really like chocobos don’t you?

**Prompto:** YES!!  
**Prompto:** You have a ranch for chocobos you should knooooooow! Them majestic birds! They are just too beautiful!!  
**Prompto:** And of course all the different colors they can be! 

Noctis was smiling as he read Prompto's ramblings about chocobos. He was awfully cute when it came to talking about the feathered creatures. But then he remembered what Prompto had said the other day. Prompto said that he had never ridden one, but he assumed they were really soft.

Did that mean he had never even seen one in person? That was what Noctis assumed before but he never gave it too much thought. Had he really been sheltered away from all of that because of his illness? Or maybe before the illness he just wasn't able to get out to see one as they were not common to see just within the main city area.

Suddenly an idea came to his mind.

**Noctis:** well hey that gives me an idea

**Prompto:** Huh?  
**Prompto:** What do you mean by that?

**Noctis:** you’ll have to come by later and see :P

**Prompto:** Should I be worried by that?  
**Prompto:** Cause it sounds really ominous  
**Prompto:** WAIT!   
**Prompto:** ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE SOMEONE BRING IN A CHOCOBO?!

**Noctis:** nah I wish  
**Noctis:** but it is something just as good 

**Prompto:** BUT NOW I WANNA KNOW!!  
**Prompto:** YOU MENTIONED THE SPECIAL WORD!!

**Noctis:** chocobos is your special word?  
**Noctis:** what does it do to you?  
**Noctis:** does it finally reveal your true form that you are a chocobo? :P

**Prompto:** Duuuuuude!!!  
**Prompto:** I told you I am not a chocobo!

**Noctis:** I’ll believe it when I see it

**Prompto:** But you just saw me yesterday! 

**Noctis:** doesn’t mean it wasn’t your true form  
**Noctis:** besides  
**Noctis:** who wouldn’t wanna secretly be a chocobo?

**Prompto:** Okay true, that would be pretty cool!  
**Prompto:** They fun so faaast!!  
**Prompto:** I mean run lol 

**Noctis:** well I will still believe you are secretly a chocobo   
**Noctis:** for now at least XP

**Prompto:** Awwwww  
**Prompto:** What if I can’t waaaait???

**Noctis:** oh well then   
**Noctis:** guess it won’t happen

**Prompto:** No no!! I’ll wait!  
**Prompto:** I can do it!  
**Prompto:** I’ll be good and wait to see!

**Noctis:** haha okay  
**Noctis:** wanna play some King’s Knight before the doctors come and get me?

**Prompto:** Sure!

The two of them played for a little while before the doctors showed up. When that time came Noctis sighed and placed his phone down to charge while he was taken off to get the x-rays. As he was wheeled down to the area, he stared up at the ceiling, trying to drown out the sounds from around him. He wanted to get this over as soon as he could. He could only hope that it didn't take too long.

* * *

It thankfully didn't take as much time as he thought it would, but still he was informed that there would be some discussion afterwards. He waited quietly back on his bed in his room before non other than Dr. Fair came into the room and took a seat.

"Hey, good morning Noctis, so how are you feeling today?"

"Tired," Noctis grumbled.

"Well hey don't worry. We will make this quick so you can nap if you want. But looking over the x-rays we at least have answers."

"So how soon will it be until I'm given a wheelchair?" Noctis interrupted.

Dr. Fair laughed, breaking from his 'serious doctor' demeanor. "Sounds like you are excited to just get a wheelchair and zoom on out of here."

"No," Noctis deadpanned. "I just know I'll probably be given one eventually."

"That's true. The fractures from the blows dealt to your legs were pretty severe, if you ever wanna see the x-rays yourself just let me know. But you have nothing to worry about. As long as we take you through a slow and steady recovery, you will be able to walk again. It's just going to take time, you know?"

Noctis frowned. Truly he was happy to hear he would be able to walk, but there was always that fear something could go wrong. Aside from that, he knew it wouldn't be a perfect recovery and make everything that happened nonexistent. He knew that much from his last injury.

"I know…"

"Good. Well I think that about covers what I had to talk about. I'll be forwarding all this information and the x-rays to your adviser dude uh…" Dr. Fair tapped the side of his chin for a moment. "Oh! Mr. Scientia, that was it."

"Had trouble remembering his name?" Noctis asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey I can't remember every last name, I'm a first name person type of guy. Besides not everyone has a _fairly_ easy last name, like mine."

Noctis groaned. He of course had to be stuck having the weirdest of doctors. "What kind of doctor has a serious talk with their patient and then makes a pun?"

Dr. Fair grinned widely. "The best kind. And also the kind that rewards good patients with candy. I'll grab you something from the vending machine, what would you like?"

"Huh? What?"

"I asked if there was anything from the vending machine that you would want."

"Can you even do that? Like is it legal?"

"Hey I don't currently have my usual supply of lollipops, so I gotta do what I can," Dr. Fair replied. "So is there anything I can get you?"

 _"Weirdo."_ Noctis thought to himself before he gave his real answer. "Fine, I'll take a plain chocobar, not the almonds one."

"Got it! I'll be right back okay?"

Shaking his head, Noctis went to pick up his phone. "Whatever."

He could hear Dr. Fair chuckling as he walked towards the door. Suddenly Noctis looked up and clearly his throat. "Uh wait, Dr. Fair, I got a question."

"What's up?"

"You think maybe… uh… Prompto can come and visit again? Today?"

Right away Dr. Fair's eyes lit up. "Oooh! Now I get why you want the wheelchair so badly. Of course I can grab Prompto for ya! And the chocobar too!"

Dr. Fair was out of the room again before Noctis could blink. While he waited though he opened up his phone and went straight to texting.

**Noctis:** dr fair probably is going to show up soon  
**Noctis:** be prepared I guess 

**Prompto:** Thanks!  
**Prompto:** Trust me, I’ve dealt with him long enough to know how he is.   
**Prompto:** Still his energy is insane!

**Noctis:** it really seems like it   
  


**Prompto:** but he still is a fun guy either way  
**Prompto:** Trust me you will probably get used to him after awhile.

**Noctis:** I can tell  
**Noctis:** a guy like that would leave an impression I think no matter what

**Prompto:** Oh you know it!  
**Prompto:** I got some fun stories I could tell XD

**Prompto:** Oh! He’s here though, see you soon!

Smiling Noctis placed his phone back down on the table and began to wait. He knew that there was no real reason to feel nervous, yet he could feel the butterflies swarming. He wished he could just contain the feeling, but there was no denying them. He only hoped to the Astrals that he didn't slip up in front of Prompto.

 _"That would be a fine way to screw everything up. Oh what's that?"_ Noctis asked himself sarcastically. _"Why am I so nervous around you? Oh that's cause I've just developed a crush on you after only meeting you a couple days ago! Don't find it weird or anything! Yeah right… he'd probably avoid me after that for sure."_

Noctis held his breath once he saw Prompto enter the room. All his thoughts and feelings were pushed as far back as he could make them go. He could only hope they could stay there and nothing would try to seep out. He hoped at least… that's all he could do. Dr. Fair stepped in briefly to drop off the candy bar, but he ran out shortly after that. 

"Hey Noct!" Prompto said as he walked into the room and took his seat in the chair. "So what was it you wanted to show me? Do I get to know yet?"

Noctis nodded and reached over to the table, and this time took hold of his laptop. He sat himself up in the bed a bit more and opened up the device. He typed away some things before turning the laptop for Prompto to see. "Thought you may enjoy looking at this."

Prompto leaned in to look at the screen and his eyes began to widen. There were several screens within the window Noctis was on. Each smaller screen was a camera feed, all of them showing different areas of a building that had chocobos walking or running around.

"Is this you chocobo ranch?!" Prompto exclaimed.

"You bet it is. I thought you'd like to see the live feed of the chocobos since you haven't really seen one before. I mean I assume. Or whatever. You know what I mean."

"Totally. But this… this is amazing! I can see all the adorable fluffy babies! Can you enlarge any of the cameras?"

"Sure, let's see…"

Noctis looked over the different cameras on screen until he found the one he was looking for. A second later he clicked on one of the feeds and the screen enlarged. Now the entire screen was showing feed of little baby chocobos, some of them running around with others just sitting there and sleeping.

"Awwww! Look how cute they are!" Prompto was beaming with excitement as he stared at the screen. "They are just so fluffy! And they're little bitty beaks and fluffy feathers! Awww look at that little fluffy black one just sitting there all tired and sleepy. And oh oh! There's a little red one too! Agh! There's just so much cuteness to take in all at once."

Noctis tried to look at the screen to see what Prompto was gawking about, but he couldn't pry his eyes away from Prompto himself. He was watching the blond gawk and ramble on and on about how cute the chocobos were, but Noctis couldn't help but think how _cute_ Prompto was for rambling about it.

They said the world moved slower when you were with the one you love. Right at these counting moments, it seemed to be true. Noctis watched as Prompto spoke and laughed, focusing on his lips. He gulped, the thought of placing his on the other invaded his mind. He shook it off, but he couldn't move his eyes away just yet.

He observed the curves of the other's face, almost picture perfect. The surfaces of Prompto's cheeks, soft and full of wonders. The way he grinned and how it made his entire face just light up with beauty. All of it was so perfect.

It only took a few minutes before Prompto stared at him with a confused glance. "Uh hey dude? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"What?" Noctis said, snapping out of his daze.

"You were staring at me with a really weird face."

"What? No I wasn't!" Noctis said as quickly as he could.

"Yeah you were!" Prompto said as he pointed. "You were like staring and zoning out and smiling at me."

"I-I wasn't!" Noctis stammered. " _Great! Just great! Now he caught me staring."_

"Then what were you doing? You can't just stare and smile at someone and say it was nothing!"

"I… I don't know, okay? I just was staring and got lost looking and… no I mean! I was just…"

"Does…. Does this have to do with calling me… cute the other day?"

"U-Uh…" Noctis licked his lips. Everything felt so dry right now he could barely speak. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to breath out. If he could just level out his breathing, maybe he could think of some way to avoid this. But Prompto was staring at him, waiting for an answer. He even asked if it was all cause Noctis called him cute. He didn't seem to phrase or freaked out by it though.

" _Maybe… maybe I could just come out and say it? Maybe he won't hate me if I do."_

"If I tell you, promise you won't just up and leave me?"

Prompto narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why would I leave dude? I wanna see more chocobos! And video games too! And maybe have some of those pastry things that your adviser guy brought. I checked and I can eat them."

"Well… if I tell you. I guess…" Noctis sighed. "I'm just afraid you would wanna leave."

"Dude, I promise I won't leave."

"Okay," Noctis replied softly. "The thing is… the reason why I stared… it's true. I really just… IreallythingthatyourecuteandIthinkIhaveacrushonyou."

He ran his words together so fast he nearly felt like he was going to get tongue twisted. He hoped he would say it and that would be it, but of course Prompto tilted his head to the side, still staring at him with confusion. "Uh… wanna run that by me again? I gotta be honest, I really didn't catch any of that."

Noctis clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to spit it out again in one breath. "I think… that I have a crush on you."

"You… h-have a crush? On _me_!?"

Prompto looked completely flabbergasted opposed to being offended or disgusted. Which was better than Noctis thought at least. "Y-Yeah… I'm sorry. I just… I don't even know. I just saw you and just felt something. Man… I'm stupid…" He buried his face into his hands, trying to cover up how red his face probably was.

"Hey no… you're not stupid."

Noctis felt Prompto's hands on his. Slowly he let him pry his hands away from his face and he was met with a soft expression. "I don't think it's stupid at least. I think… I think it's kind of cute." Prompto started to smile again, with his own shade of red covering his cheeks.

"Really?"

"I mean, I think it's crazy that the prince of all people would think I am cute. I'm just a pleb afterall. Just a little no one with a crappy illness making his life hard."

"I don't care about social status Prompto," Noctis said. "All I care about is you and who you are for your personality."

Prompto started to laugh. "Dude that sounds so corny."

"Well…" Noctis started to smirk. "Is it working?"

"It might just be," Prompto replied as he smiled wider than ever before. Though it was quick to form into a sly smirk. "Though I gotta admit, you've always been pretty dreamy and cute yourself."

Noctis's mouth dropped wide open. "A-Are you… flirting with me now?"

"Hey you started it first! Besides it's true and you have noooo idea how long I've been wanting to say that about you!"

"Wait, you meant that you…?"

"Yup, I also kind of had a crush on you too," Prompto replied with a soft chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheh how's that for a ending? I still may take some days between chapters, but I am still working on this best as I can. But thank you all again and see you next time!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry it took me a bit to get through this. Other stories and just a bit of a slow block to work through. But here it is again the next chapter!!

" _Yup, I also kind of had a crush on you too," Prompto replied with a soft chuckle._

"Seriously?" Noctis asked, still half in disbelief. "Like.. what are the chances of this, you know?"

"I don't really know," Prompto answered softly. "I mean… I wouldn't have expected… um ah… you know, you to be-"

"It's fine, not like I publicly announce that kind of stuff. That stays personal."

"O-Oh yeah! I totally get it! I promise I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

"I believe you, don't worry," Noctis replied. "But ah like what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Prompto asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"I mean like, we just admitted to each other that we have a crush on each other… Don't people usually do something about that when that happens?"

"Y-You mean like dating?"

Noctis could practically feel the fire that was burning in his cheeks. "I guess. Only if you wanna do something about it. Otherwise we could just forget it and pretend it even happened."

"We could, but-but maybe start slow or stuff? Like we still just met the other day. We still need to learn about each other first."

With a deep breath Noctis reached out and placed his hand on top of Prompto's. He smiled softly as his fingers wrapped around the hand. "Well I think we're already off to a great start. We already got a lot in common anyways."

Noctis could see that Prompto was already blushing profusely. He looked so nervous but he never pulled his hand away. He sat there trying to calmly breath and after a moment he placed his other hand on top of Noctis's, sandwiching his hand between his. "Yeah, a great start."

* * *

With their feelings being established they finally went back to watching the chocobo feed. This time whenever Noctis stared more at Prompto than at the computer, he didn't call him out. Sure his cheeks started turning red when he gave a side glance to Noctis, but he never said anything else otherwise. He tried his best to not stare too much though, but it was hard to pry his eyes away from such a beautiful face.

Lunch seems to be the thing that helped distract him a bit at least. The nurses brought in food for the boys and as they ate they watched a little more of the chocobos before deciding to switch to watching some random videos on the internet.

Eventually enough time had passed where they decided it was a good time to play some games. Prompto made his way over to the bag containing the games and started looking through them again. As he did he couldn't help but glance to the side at the other bag that contained the pastries.

"Hey," Noctis said. "Did you check if you could have one?"

"Yup, I'm good with eating sweets like that. Is it okay if I still want one?"

"Of course. I can't really eat all of them now," Noctis laughed. "But bring me one too."

Prompto smiled and bobbed his head. He picked out one of the games and placed it in the game device before grabbing two pastries as well as two controllers. Heading back to the bed he handed one to Noctis before biting into the snack.

Instantly his eyes lit up. "Wow! This is really good!"

"Yeah, Ignis really likes to make these. Seems like he is trying a new flavor this time," Noctis said after his bite.

"Man I wish I had a friend who would cook food like this!"

"Well I'm sure I can ask Ignis to bring some more food from time to time."

"You'd do that? I mean I don't know if the guy really likes me or not…"

"He's just being over protective. And besides if I want food he'll bring it for me. I'll see what else he could make for next time."

"Really? Wow cool cool! So ready to play some Mario Kart?"

"You bet!"

Prompto handed him one of the game controllers and Noctis started up the game. Between waiting for the game to boot up and eating their pastries, Noctis never felt such a good feeling in his chest. It was a sort of swelling feeling, but it was warm and comforting. The warmth only increased each time started at Prompto.

 _"Am… I really in love with him?"_ Noctis pondered. _"I can't explain this feeling… but it has to be that. I still can't believe he feels the same. It's almost unreal, but I don't think I'd have it any other way."_

* * *

The boys lost all track of time as they played. All that seemed to matter was laughing and having fun. Even the doctors and nurses passing by the room couldn't help but stop and smile at the sight, especially those who knew Prompto well. To see the poor lonely boy who had been stuck there for a good few years finally smiling and laughing genuinely again, it made the rest of the day seem a whole lot brighter.

The boys themselves were too busy to notice the occasional glances into the room. Their focus was just on the game and laughing at each other whenever something stupid in screen happened.

Eventually the race finished and Prompto stretched his arms. "So what's that? I think the score is 6-4?"

"Yeah, so let's go again. That way I can wipe the smug grin off your face," Noctis chuckled.

"How about we take a break first?"

"Why? You _scared_ of losing your winning streak?"

Prompto pouted at him. "No! I just thought… maybe we could do something else shortly."

Noctis looked at Prompto's expression, there was a hint of red turning up in his cheeks. "Like what?"

"I don't know… I just thought maybe we… um we could maybe… maybe we could talk some more? I don't know… just something I guess that was on my mind. W-We don't have to though!" Prompto snapped his head up, now looking very wide eyed. "If you don't want to or anything we can just go back to playing! Just don't mind me saying anything!"

Noctis laughed. "You don't have to get so worried. If you want to just talk, we could."

"O-Oh okay!"

"So… what did you wanna talk about?"

"I uh… I didn't think that far."

Another laugh filled Noctis's lung. "Okay how about I ask you something then. You already know some stuff about me after all."

"Go ahead then!"

"Well we talked about something you liked before, but I only learned about your chocobo obsession."

"It's not an obsession!"

"Sure thing secret chocobo Prompto."

He could see that Prompto was pouting again, but it was thankfully in a childish manner rather than genuinely upset. The last thing Noctis wanted to do was actually upset Prompto. "So, what else do you like then?"

"Well, I like photography. I got a Loxton LX-30. I used to take a lot of nice pictures when I would go out hiking or something. Especially back home…"

"Sorry," Noctis muttered quickly.

"Oh no! It's not cause I'm here and stuff now… I just mean my old home." Prompto bit his lips slightly. "Just forget about it. It doesn't matter."

"But you already said this much! Can't just leave a guy hanging like that."

"But what if I say it and I ruin everything!" Prompto suddenly exclaimed. "I don't want you to hate me or anything."

"Why would I hate you?"

"I'm… I wasn't born in Insomnia," Prompto said, his voice barely over a whisper.

"Well then where were you born?"

"Nibelheim."

A short gasp escaped from Noctis's lips. "Nibelheim… isn't that a town in the Niflheim territory of Gralea?"

"You mean ' _wasn't_ that'… It was an old historical town yeah… but there was a fire nearly five years ago. Destroyed the town and everything… and my parents…" Prompto let out a short sigh. "After that… I moved here to live with my brother. But you know… I've been here for most of it."

" _If that fire was five years ago… does he mean he's been here almost five years or something? But also shit… if Ignis actually does that background check he'll find out Prompto was from Niflheim territory and he won't probably stand for that."_

Insomnia didn't have the worst relation with the Niflheim territory, but there was a long and tiresome history between them. Past histories that had led to war back in the old days and various other things no doubt left some stains even in the present day.

Noctis almost had the thought to reach out for his phone to text Ignis. To plead with him not to do the background check on Prompto. But he knew that doing that would only make Ignis more suspicious over the reason. Eventually he knew that Ignis was going to find out… and he couldn't bear to think of what would happen then. He wasn't ready for this friendship to be torn apart. He didn't _want_ it to be torn apart yet. This was something new, something that actually made him excited to interact with another.

"You don't hate me now, do you?"

Snapping from his thoughts he could see that he had left Prompto hanging. "No of course not! I wouldn't have guessed it though. But I don't care about that!"

Reaching out he took hold of Prompto's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I don't care where you are from. Where you are from doesn't matter to me. I just care about you and that's it."

Prompto's face was turning redder and redder by the second. Noctis could feel that his hand was trembling beneath his own so he moved forward and pulled Prompto closer to him. "Hey, it's okay Prompto. I promise. My love for you means more than our backgrounds."

It only took him a few seconds before he realized what he had just said. He had said 'my love for you' without even thinking. Sure he had said he had a crush on Prompto and thought he was cute, but he hadn't said anything else deeper than that. Well… now he had just said it right out in the open.

His own face was burning at his point, but he froze and couldn't pull away from Prompto now. He looked down and saw that Prompto shifted his hand. He was now holding on to Noctis's hand, with his fingers interwoven with Noctis's. His eyes were on the edge of pouring tears.

"Thanks Noct. That… That just means a whole lot to me. Takes a load off my chest if you know what I mean."

"You're welcome. Now what do you say we get back to playing some more games? I gotta restore my honor and gain the winning lead."

"Oh yeah you're on!"

* * *

That evening Ignis sat in front of his computer at his desk. His chin resting on his fingers that were lanced together. With a glance he looked down at his phone before clicking it to turn on the screen. After seeing that there was nothing there he sighed and went back to staring at his computer to finish the work he had to do.

Eventually Gladio came back and stared down at Ignis. "You've been quietly working all day. Is something on your mind?"

"I'm not the only one who is being unusually quiet," Ignis muttered as he moved some files around on the screen.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you failed to notice that Noct has not texted either one of us today? I would presume he hasn't texted you today at least as he didn't text me."

"Yeah I haven't heard anything from sleeping beauty today, but I can't blame him. He's probably still a bit bummed out about the whole thing."

"I fear it is not only that he is upset over the matter of being stuck in a hospital yet again."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When I went to visit him yesterday, there was a boy in the room with him."

Gladio raised an eyebrow. "A boy?"

"Someone close in age with him I would presume, but he isn't anyone Noct mentioned before. In fact Noct told me he had just met him the other day due to your mistake."

"My mistake? What did I even do?"

"Apparently you put your number incorrectly into Noct's new phone. He texted some stranger who just happened to be a boy at the hospital. To say the least I do not trust it one bit."

"So…" Gladio pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ignis. "You're going to do a background check on the guy?"

"Yes. Despite Noct not wanting me to do so, I must do it for his safety."

"Yeah I get that. So what's the kid's name? Did you even find that out?"

Ignis adjusted his glasses and nodded. He mimizmed the tab he had been working on and pulled up something else. A special security program granted to him and only a few others in the Citadel. Being the Crown Prince's royal adviser and personal caretaker granted him these privileges to look into these things easily. It saved much time rather than waiting for someone else to do it for him.

He typed **Prompto Argentum Strife** into the search bar and hit the search button. He leaned back in his chair as he waited for the information to pull up.

Gladio gave a small grunt. "That's quite the name."

"And a name such as Gladiolus Amicitia isn't?"

Gladio grunted again. "Just saying. Last name sounds kind of familiar though."

Now that the information had pulled up on the screen the two of them leaned forward slightly to read what information there was. Though right away his eyes narrowed at something that caught his attention right away.

**Birthplace: Nibelheim, Niflheim Territory, Gralea.**

**Born: October 25th M.E. 735**

"Shit, the kid's a Niff?"

"Indeed it seems that way," Ignis replied sternly.

"But…" Gladio looked at the screen carefully. "He moved here officially five years ago, and not illegally. It says his older brother had already been living here with an Insomnia residency for a couple years and that his brother is his legal guardian."

"I am very capable of reading that myself."

"Yeah but knowing you, you might jump to conclusions too soon. We all know the history with Niflheim, but there is nothing there that shows that he would have any reason to be tied to that. But now I know why the name is familiar. His brother runs that delivery service."

"There is still the concern as to why he was in the hospital though," Ignis replied as he started scrolling through the file on Prompto.

"Kids end up in the hospital a lot. Doesn't mean there has to be some malicious reason Ig. I know you are just looking out to protect Noct, but you don't have to over analyze everything."

"I think as his adviser I have the right to over analyze if I so choose," Ignis muttered as he clicked on the medical files on Prompto. "You weren't there Gladio, the boy had a blood packet on his IV. There has to be…"

He trailed off as he saw the words come up on the screen.

**Medical Conditions: None**

**Blood Type: O+**

**Illnesses: Starscourge**

Both Ignis and Gladio stared with their eyes widening at the sight. Both of them blinking a couple of times to make sure they were seeing it correctly. But now it was starting to all make sense to Ignis. The pale complexity… the blood packet… the thin and frail size all factored from having the Starscourge.

"Well then…" Gladio let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "What was he even doing in the room with Noct?"

"They were talking and laughing. Over what matter I don't know, they stopped once I entered the room."

"Kid's probably lonely if he has been stuck in the hospital with the Starscourge. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to."

"And the fact that he just so happened to be the number that Noct texted instead?"

"Pure chance. Or hell, maybe the Astrals had something to do with it for all we know," Gladio replied. "I'm not so good with that kind of stuff but you never know."

"I suppose… but I still want to keep an eye on him. For Noct's safety after all."

"Yeah yeah, of course you do. Next time I go and visit the princess I'll keep and eye out for his Prompto kid, okay?"

"Right," Ignis said, unable to take his eyes off the screen.

It was still baffling to say the least. The chances were unique, but he couldn't help but think of what he saw when he first walked into the room. He saw Noctis laughing… laughing more than usual. Maybe it was just that he had someone to talk to or maybe it was something else, but Ignis could not remember the last time he saw Noctis smile that genuinely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got some fun plans the further I think over this. Since I classify as a modern AU but with elements from canon, I can branch out do doing a lot of things. So I maaaay or may not have a certain relative of Noctis show up to visit him sooner or later hehe. 
> 
> Thank you all again so much and I will see you next time!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh I got a new chapter out in a couple of days again! But either way ahhh just thank you all so much so far for the feedback again. I am so happy everyone is loving the fluff. 
> 
> Now this chapter has a certain fun appearance of someone, hehe. Enjoy!

When the next morning came, the first thing that Noctis did was pull out his phone and unlock it.

 **Noctis:** yo prompto!  
 **Noctis:** you awake yet?

 **Noctis:** uugh I hate being awake this early, but they keep waking me up  
 **Noctis:** but I guess it also means more fun to play games all day

Noctis waited a few minutes as he waited for Prompto. He sent out a couple of texts to Ignis and Gladio, who thankfully had not pestered him for being too quiet yesterday. He still did want to talk with them after all, but he was still afraid of what would happen when they found out about Prompto's background. He could only go hoping for now that things would be okay.

 **Prompto:** Yo yo!  
 **Prompto:** I have risen!

 **Noctis:** well welcome to the world of the waking  
 **Nocitis:** still really wish I could go back to the realm of sleep|  
 **Noctis:** it was nice and peaceful there

 **Prompto:** But didn't you say you wanted to play more games?  
 **Prompto:** You aren't just going to go back to sleep and leave me are you? ( ≧Д≦)

 **Noctis:** what the heck is that?

 **Prompto:** I thought to spice up my emoji use with some funny looking ones.  
 **Prompto:** Do you not like them? ( ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥ )

 **Noctis:** no no  
 **Noctis:** they just look really random and strange

 **Prompto:** Ahh well it's too much effort to keep searching them.  
 **Prompto:** I'll just stick to what it easiest :P

 **Noctis:** okay very random lol  
 **Noctis:** now how about you get over here!  
 **Noctis:** I want another rematch!

 **Prompto:** You just wanna lose again?

 **Noctis:** no this time I will win!  
 **Noctis:** you'll see this time!

 **Prompto:** Suuuuuuuure

 **Prompto:** But I haven't even eaten breakfast yet.

 **Noctis:** well you can eat breakfast over here with me  
 **Noctis:** now get your chocobo butt over here so we can play

 **Prompto:** I am not a chocobo butt! (ノ `Д´)ノ

 **Noctis:** I thought you weren't going to use those anymore

 **Prompto:** I had one more saved.  
 **Prompto:** But I guess I'll head on over to your room.

 **Noctis:** yeah see you soon  
 **Noctis:** shake those tail feathers and get a move on :P

 **Prompto:** Noooooooooct  
 **Noctis:** can't help it :P  
 **Noctis:** you just are so chocobo  
 **Noctis:** it's cute though ;)

 **Prompto:** Awww thanks!  
 **Prompto:** BUT I WILL NOT LET YOU GET AWAY SO EASILY!  
 **Prompto:** THIS MEans I get to find some creature to call you and you'll see how you'll like it! :P

 **Noctis:** good luck with that

 **Prompto:** Oh we shall see! I shall find a way!  
 **Prompto:** Anyways see you soon!

Noctis couldn't stop grinning even after he closed his phone. Every time he texted Prompto it just brought a smile to his face. Sure he smiled before when making jokes with Ignis and Gladio, or sending memes to one another, but it was different with Prompto. He would just smile at anything pretty much that the guy said.

 _"I guess this is what it's like to be in love,"_ Noctis thought to himself. He placed a hand over his heart, focusing on the warm feeling that resonated when he thought about Prompto. _"Never felt it before, but it just has to be it, right? And he loves me back which helps."_

Suddenly Noctis started to chuckle to himself. Though he still was wary over how Gladio and Ignis would think of Prompto hanging out with him all the time, he found a different aspect to be more amusing. _"Neither of them have girlfriends yet, so I totally am beating them in the dating game! But…"_ His mood was quick to turn sour. _"Still don't know if they would be okay that I have a boyfriend now…"_

Shifting in bed he tried his best to put the thoughts out of mind. He always knew what his feelings had been over who he liked, but he never tried to think too deeply on it before, never thinking it would matter or he would really find anyone worth it. There was that and also telling Gladio and Ignis, his two closest and oldest friends, the fact that he liked boys over girls. He kept it a secret this long, but he knew he couldn't hide the truth from them for long, especially Ignis.

Thankfully Prompto coming into the room distracted him from digging too deeply into the thoughts. Following behind him were a couple of nurses who were bringing in food for the both of them. Noctis could only guess that Prompto must have informed them on his way over.

"Hey," Prompto said as he took his seat.

"Hey," Noctis replied back. "So you ready for round two?"

"Oh you know it! And then maybe we can switch it up and a bit and play some of the other games?"

"Of course! But first some food."

As they began to eat Noctis noticed that Prompto had far less of a breakfast than him. He has some oatmeal and one half slice of toast and that was it, opposed to Noctis who had two toast slices and an egg. He thought to ask but then remembered the Starscourge.

"Can't eat a whole lot in the morning. Too much food at the start of the day messes with… well you know," Prompto said as if he had read Noctis's mind.

"Oh… I get it. Sorry."

"It's fine. Later in the day I can manage a bit more at least. I'll want more of those pastries anyway," Prompto said before chuckling.

"Right, well we can make that the plan."

The two began eating but now Noctis found himself staring at Prompto for a different reason. There was something he was surprised that he had not noticed before. Sitting on Prompto's face was a pair of glasses. The frames were thin, but were a little thicker by the arms.

"You wear glasses?" Noctis asked without thinking.

Prompto turned his head the other way, averting his gaze from Noctis. "Y-Yeah… you told me to get over here quickly so I didn't take any time to put in my contacts. I look pretty stupid I know."

"Stupid? No you don't! I mean you look like a dork," Noctis started to say as he saw Prompto glare at him. "But you're a cute dork! You look good."

"You really think so?" Prompto asked, sounding rather uncertain.

"Would I lie to my new boyfriend about his looks?" Noctis asked, laughing slightly to add to his teasing.

Prompto pushed up his glasses slightly, trying to cover his face in the process. But underneath his hands, Noctis could see that he was smiling. Slowly he lowered his hands and grinned even wider. "I guess I'll wear them more often if you like them that much."

"I'll be happy with whatever. Just as long as you stay cute."

Prompto snorted. "Are you always this flirty and charismatic?"

Noctis shrugged. "Only with you I guess."

"Wow! I got super lucky then! Though I guess cuteness just runs in my blood."

Noctis raised an eyebrow. "What does that even mean?"

"Oh!" Prompto pulled out his phone and started scrolling for something. "I haven't shown you yet… uh where is it… oh here!" He turned the phone towards Noctis. "This is my older brother Cloud. He was called cute a lot as well when he was my age."

The picture on the screen was of a young Prompto wearing even bigger framed glasses and another blond who was clearly a good few years older. He did bear a very similar appearance to Prompto, with the same bright blue eyes and blond spiky hair. Though Cloud's hair was much longer than Prompto's and far more spiky as a result.

"So your family _did_ descend from chocobos."

"Heeeey! Well… okay honestly you aren't wrong. About looking like a chocobo! Not that we descended from them! Get that stupid grin off your face!" Prompto pouted until Noctis finally did so. "I think Cloud's been called a chocobo more than me though."

"Well I gotta say you look much more friendly than your brother does, no offence," Noctis said as he stared at the image again. Little Prompto was grinning widely while Cloud looked uninterested and much more reversed.

"Ah that's just his default 'far too serious' Cloud gaze. He's actually capable of smiling. Here… let's see…"

Prompto flicked through some photos until there was a new photo. This one was still of a young Prompto, but this time he was sitting on Cloud's shoulders, burying his face in the spikes of his brother's hair. Sure enough Cloud was smiling as he looked up at his little brother.

"Well what do you know. Well that's good that you didn't grow up with a brother who was far too serious."

"Yeah! And I bet you could meet him next time he visits me."

"Wouldn't he be like… you know, all big protective brother? Giving cold and harsh glares or something?" Noctis asked as he crossed his arms. He knew well enough from Gladio how protective a big brother could be over their younger sibling. He had lost track of how many times Gladio scared off kids from picking on Iris.

"He might, but I don't think he would really want to glare down at the Crown Prince. Would he like get arrested if he did that? Is that like a thing or something?"

Shaking his head Noctis tried not to laugh too much. "No he wouldn't get arrested. But if my Shield were here, they'd probably have a stare down."

"I think I've seen pictures of him with you in the news. He is that super tall guy that probably could pumple me into next Tuesday, right?"

"That's Gladio for you. You'll be fine though as long as you don't piss him off. But I think you'll be fine. He has a little sister you know? So he knows a thing or two about younger siblings.

Prompto breathed out a little over dramatically. "Oh whew! That is one less thing I gotta worry about. For a moment I thought the big scary bodyguards things were about to become real."

"Well he _is_ still my Shield. He will protect me at all…" Noctis felt the words filled up his throat. For a moment it felt hard to breath. An uncomfortable twisting feeling filled his gut, making the rest of his words that were floating in his head feel sour.

Sighing he didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to say anything… he knew it was all his fault anyway. The whole reason he was even in the hospital in the first place. It was all because of his stupid choice and…

Prompto's hand was on his shoulder suddenly. His brow furrowed at him, trying to figure out what was wrong. "You okay?"

"Yeah sure," Noctis said quickly, hoping to divert away from the topic.

"I know it's really none of my business, but since we're trying… you know… to date and stuff, I wanna be here for you. If you ever wanna talk about it. If you don't that's fine! Just wanted to let you know and stuff. Just in case you change your mind."

Noctis smiled, feeling the current guilt wash away. "Thanks Prompto."

He was ready to continue talking when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Turning to look he saw a very familiar man with reddish shade of hair. "Oh, I hope I haven't come at a bad time. I didn't realize you'd already have a visitor."

"Uncle Ardyn?" Noctis questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Ardyn laughed as he stepped into the room, placing his hat on the back of the door. "Why visiting my dear sweet nephew of course."

Noctis rolled his eyes slightly. He didn't hate his uncle, far from it. It was just that his uncle was a bit… eccentric and strange, both in his personality and his fashion sense. But he still was a good uncle nonetheless aside from all his weird quirks that were sometimes just a little annoying.

"Uh Noct?" Prompto asked as he lowered his voice. "You want me to come back later? I don't wanna interrupt or come in between a family member visiting you."

"What, but we barely got to do anything."

"We still got the entire day. Just text me later okay?" Prompto said as he got up.

"All right, see you later," Noctis nodded as he watched Prompto head out of the room, bowing his head slightly when he passed by Ardyn. Now that it was just the two of them, Noctis sighed loudly. "I thought my dad was supposed to come visit me."

"And he is! But alas work still has my dear brother quiet tied up. He will try to be here soon though, but for the time being, I have come to visit. Can't an uncle come and visit his favorite nephew?"

"Your _only_ nephew," Noctis corrected.

"All the more reason that you are the favorite," Ardyn chuckled before taking a seat. "Now do tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Tired not too much pain either. Only if I try to stretch the muscles does it really hurt."

"Good to hear that you are making a proper recovery. You should be out in no time then."

"Yeah…" Noctis hummed softly. He did want to leave the hospital as soon as he could, but that would mean less time to see Prompto. He would only be allowed to visit him during visiting hours once he was discharged.

"Something on your mind?" Ardyn hummed. He was always good at being able to read the mood in a person, something he had just developed a knack for over the years.

"No not really… well maybe there is something…" Noctis slowly looked over to his uncle. He felt a bit embarrassed on the inside, but he knew that he could trust his uncle to listen to him. "Can I ask you something?"

"But of course Noctis. You know that I am here to listen to you. Isn't that what an uncle is for?"

"Yeah… but like…" Noctis tried to take in a steady breath. "I think I may just end up regretting asking you this, but… what can you tell me about being in love?"

Before meeting Promtpo, Noctis had only told one other about his preferences in liking boys over girls. His uncle Ardyn was the only one who he kept this secret with, and thankfully he kept that secret to respect Noctis's choice until he was ready to tell the others.

"Oooh, I see," Ardyn chuckled as a rather amused grin crossed his face. "Have you finally found someone that is to your liking? Perhaps it is that boy who was just here?"

"N-No!" Noctis quickly said, his face burning. "Why would you assume that?"

"Cause I highly doubt that you just suddenly developed feelings for you Advisor or Shield that are more than just brotherly."

Noctis scrunched up his nose. "No of course not! It isn't them!"

"Then I was right, because I wouldn't know who else on Eos it could possibly be. Besides I saw the way you looked at the boy, quiet smitten with him aren't you?"

Noctis pulled up on the covers on the bed and buried his face into them. "Just forget it. This was a bad idea…" he said, his voice muffled into the sheets.

"There are no bad ideas when it comes to talking about love my dear nephew. Now why don't you tell me what is on your mind?"

Dropped the covers, Noctis tried to think. He just wanted to explain this… this feeling he had. Or more really get an explanation for it. Even if it was making him feel nervous and embarrassed he knew he could trust his uncle for advice. "I just wanna know what this feeling is. If it's love or whatever."

"Love my boy is a very powerful thing. But tell me more how you feel. When you are with this boy, how does it differ from being with your Adviser or Shield?"

"I just… It feels different. Something I think that's more natural cause he just is my friend, not someone working to protect me. It…" Noctis placed a hand over his heart. "It makes me feel happy when I'm around him. Just getting to relax and have fun, not worrying about having to act princely at all."

Sure he had looked at other boys in school before and felt attracted to them, but he never had any thought to speak to them. Most cases people either just tried to suck up to him cause he was the prince, or they flat out tried to avoid him. Noctis wasn't the most friendly person to begin with either, but for some reason he just easily talked with Prompto. It was just an instant connection that worked and brought these new and comforting feelings to him.

"Well that does sound like you have to develop what it means to love."

"But what do I do about it?"

"You listen and follow what you feel in your heart."

Noctis rolled his eyes. "That sounds like a crappy movie cliche."

"But it is true about love!" Ardyn proclaimed. "Don't be so foolish to overlook it or over think it. It is really that simple when you boil it down to the core components."

"So I just gotta… keep doing what I am doing then?"

"It is but as simple as that."

"I guess… but that means eventually I'll have to tell dad about him. I don't really think I could keep him a secret, especially with Gladio and Ignis. It would be pretty hard to try and hide having a boyfriend."

"You still have yet to tell them? Noct, my dear nephew, I can assure you that they will not judge or treat you any differently."

"You can say that, but I can still worry… especially with my dad."

"Now why would you think that your father would think in such a manner. Why as you know when I told my dear brother that I was gay, he accepted me perfectly fine."

"Yeah, but you're his brother. He can just put up and tolerate you. I'm his son… the heir to the throne. I can't… I-I don't want to disappoint him."

It was hard to hold back the tears that were building up. He didn't want to cry. He knew he shouldn't cry. He was supposed to be stronger than this and yet here he was feeling so insecure. But Ardyn quickly pulled Noctis into a hug not a moment too soon. Noctis sniffled slightly as he tried to calm himself. A few tears in the end did manage to slip out, but he didn't try wiping them away. He knew that he could trust his uncle to understand as he always had.

"You would never be a disappointment. I know my brother well enough that he would not ever see you as such. You are his son that he loves."

"Hmm," Noctis hummed softly. He could feel his uncle gently stroking his head. It did help him calm down at least from before. "Thanks…"

"Of course. Now how about we change to different matters? Perhaps it would lighten your spirits to talk about this boy."

"Do I have to?" Noctis groaned as he pulled from the hug."

"Well it does seem to bring a smile to your face. Clearly this boy already means a lot to you."

Noctis covered his face. "You're just going to make this really weird."

"I only wish to talk, besides I doubt there is much else on your mind."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ardyn hummed softly, one of his usual sly grins crossing his face. "Tell me then, what is it you want to talk about? What could be possibly the first thing that pops into your mind."

Noctis opened his mouth, trying to think of what he would say. But just as his uncle predicated, everything that Noctis tried to think of was all related back to Prompto. It was almost strange how he couldn't seem to think of any other topic that would be interesting. Sure maybe he could talk about his newest achievement in King's Knight, but he had gotten there because of Prompto the other day.

"Am I right then?" Ayrdn asked almost smugly.

Frowning Noctis looked away from his uncle. "Whatever."

"Oh I won't take up too much of your time today. I can see you have much more important things to attend to anyways."

Sighing, Noctis smiled thankfully. "Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So glasses Prompto and Uncle Ardyn are a thing now cause yeah, I thought that would be fun. Just doing what I can to build up the lore and background of everything. 
> 
> See you guys next time! :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the 10th chapter!! 10 chapters already and still so many to go from here lol.

Prompto sat in his room practically twiddling his thumbs. He knew he could do something to occupy his time, but for some reason he couldn't get his mind to focus on anything else. Nearly every minute he would check the messages on his phone, seeing if Noctis had sent him a reply.

Eventually he placed the phone down and let out a sigh, trying to do what he could to calm himself. "Relax Prompto… he has his uncle visiting him. You can't expect him to be done already, it hasn't even been ten minutes yet."

Sighing Prompto gave in and checked his phone once more. Still there were no new messages at all so instead he unlocked his phone and began scrolling through his photo gallery. Humming softly he began to think what it would be like to have a picture of Noctis in there.

There was the one Noctis had sent before, but he had buried himself in his covers, but there was no way Prompto was going to sneakily save that one to his phone. It would feel wrong anyways to just save a random picture of the prince to his phone. That would just be creepy!

Besides it wasn't the best of Noctis anyway and now Prompto knew why the photo was taken the way it was. Those stitches and bruises did not make it look good for taking a picture. Yet despite those things, Prompto still saw Noctis as being so very handsome. Maybe it was just a prince thing that made him look always so handsome.

_"Maybe when the bruises fade I could ask for a picture. Would that be too weird to ask? But we already said we liked each other… so it wouldn't be too weird right?"_

Prompto sighed heavily as he let the realization sink in once more. "The Crown Prince…. Noctis… he has a crush on me. Me! Me of all people in all of Eos! Just some commoner pleb from Niff territory. Like wow…"

A smile started to grace his lips the further he thought about it. It just somehow made him feel better when he actually thought it over. "And he really doesn't care about where I'm from. He just likes me… for me."

It was a pleasant thought to have overall. The prince was nicer than how the gossip magazines tried to portray him. He wasn't some cold, out of touch prince who didn't care for his people, instead he was just a goofy, nervous, King's Knight loving guy. A guy who confessed he was crushing on a boy he just met and established right away that they were now boyfriends.

 _"Boyfriends…"_ Prompto laughed lightly to himself. _"Who would have thought it. Still man… it's so much to take in."_

Suddenly a thought came to mind and he stared at the dresser across from the bed. A vase with a bouquet of sylleblossoms sat there, looking perfectly healthy. Next to it was a neat little stack of envelopes with his name written in a delicate way.

_"Ah man! I gotta write to Luna about this! She probably knows Noct, right? Princes and Princesses probably are all on some secret group chat or something. I'm sure they know each other though, but… probably to be safe I'll ask Noct about it."_

Before Prompto could go planning his essay of questions, he heard a knock on his door. Turning to look he saw the familiar spiky blond hair he knew all too well. Good. That could help sort through some of the things in his mind.

"Ah Cloud! Just the brother I wanted to see!"

Cloud smiles as he dropped his coat in the chair before moving closer to the bed. He reached out to ruffle Prompto's hair. "You've been expecting me then? I didn't even tell you I was coming today."

Prompto laughed as he pushed away his brother's hand. "I still wanted to talk to you. I guess it's just good timing then!"

"All right, so what's up?" Cloud asked before moving to go and sit down in the chair.

"Well… it's something I wanted to ask. I mean you know just something on my mind. So uh…" he but his lip slightly as he tried to think how he could possibly ask what was on his mind. Or really he had to figure out what was the best way to phrase it.

"Do you love Zack?"

Cloud snorted. "I kind of got married to him a couple years back, remember? So I think that would be a yes."

"Ahh no, I mean…" Prompto ran a hand through his hair. "Like… like _how_ did you know you loved him?"

"Why are you bringing this up? Something going on?"

"Kinda… just some thoughts about something."

"You mean someone."

Prompto smiled. "Yeah, someone… Wait! How did you know?"

"Well I doubt you wanted to talk to me about your love for your camera. There's someone on your mind, isn't there?"

Prompto nodded quickly. There was no trying to hide things from his brother. Cloud was always able to tell these things, maybe due to being the older brother. But Prompto was thankfully either way for Cloud's awareness. He had always been looking out for him after all, especially after their parents had died.

At 10-years-old Prompto was left without a home or his parents. Scared and still shaken from the fire, he was almost afraid that he wouldn't have anywhere to go. Everything seemed to have fallen apart and he was more lost than ever before. How was he supposed to live his life now without anyone taking care of them? He just wasn't too sure of anything of it.

But once the fear and trauma of the event slowly started to subside, Prompto found himself in his brother's arms. Cloud had come for him, he had traveled all the way from Insomnia to come. He hadn't forgotten his little brother, not at all. From there the rest was what it was. Cloud took him in and watched over him like a good brother would, even when he got sick. He was always there for him and Prompto knew that he would continue to always do that.

"Yeah… there's um… there's a boy…"

Prompto thought it over for a moment how he was going to tell Cloud this. He was sure he could just say he was in love with Prince Noctis, let alone mention he was in hospital. There were no gossip articles or official news statements yet on the matter, so Prompto could only assume they were trying to keep the word about it low.

Cloud scooted a little closer to the bed. A smug grin was on his face before he spoke. "It's the prince, isn't it?"

Prompto's mouth dropped open. "H-How did you-"

"You think Zack wouldn't let it slip? Questioning and wondering how on Eos you somehow knew the Crown Prince? There was nothing about it before but now suddenly you were friends, and good friends from what Zack says, with the guy?"

"Okay yeah you're right. But you and Zack _can't_ tell anyone else okay?"

"Zack only tells me this kind of stuff you know. And I promise I won't tell anyone else. So now… how did this all happen?"

Prompto breathed in heavily before exhaling. "So he got a new phone and stuff and the wrong number got put into it. One of his ghus fat fingered it and it just ending up being mine. I know it's crazy, but like it actually happened. We just talked till we found out we were both you know… here, and that's pretty much it."

"Except that you've also fallen in love with him," Cloud replied, his tone sounding a bit concerned.

"But he loves me too!" Prompto blurted quicker than he would have wished.

"Really?" Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Y-Yeah…" Prompto chuckled. "Me neither. I totally thought I'd just be lost forever secretly in love with him, but he admitted it first. He said he really likes me for who I am, and doesn't care where I was born."

"And this just happened over the past few days?"

"Yup," Prompto said with a nod.

"I guess you are just as head over heels in love as I was when I was your age."

"Hey I am not! You and Zack were just _too_ much in love. I remember how Zack would just cling to you all the time as he rambled endlessly about why he loved you."

"That hasn't changed ome bit with him," Cloud said as he smiled fondly. "Every time he gets off from work he is just all over me, stil burning off his puppy energy."

Prompto scrunched up his nose, ready to cover his ears at a moments notice. "Uuugh I don't need to hear what you and Zack do in your alone time!"

"Of course, not when you got your own guy to be dreaming about." That fond smile had now turned into Cloud's smug ass grin he wore when he wanted to mess around with Prompto.

"Cloooooud," Prompto whined.

"What?" Cloud asked, sounding like he said nothing wrong at all. "You don't wanna hear about all those wonderful evening I have with Zack? How when we are alone we just-"

Prompto tried to shove Cloud's face away from his. "Bro! Don't make this weird or gross!"

"I don't think that's a rule in being a big brother. In fact I think it's the opposite."

Cloud reached forward and messed up Prompto's hair some more, much to his amused annoyance. But eventually Prompto gave in and started to laugh. "I guess that's just another thing the Strife brothers have in common."

"Hm? What do you mean by that?"

"We're both in love with guys who have spiky black hair and blue eyes."

"I guess we do have good taste in men." Cloud was chuckling as he nudged Promptp on the arm slightly.

"At least I don't have to deal with puppy energy like you do."

"Nah, toy already got that covered. Pray for the prince thet he is prepared."

"Hey! What do you mean by that!"

"You're just as much as a puppy as Zack is, albeit a much smaller blond one."

"I am _not_ a puppy!"

"Oh right, you're a chocobo, my bad," Cloud said all while that smug grin never left his face.

"We're _both_ chocobos," Promptp corrected.

"Yeah yeah, but I'm the head and you're the-"

"No! Don't finish that! Noct was already calling me that earlier. I don't need to hear it again."

Cloudless tilted his head to the side. "Why? I teased you first with that name back when we were kids. Unless…" Cloud leaned in closer to his brother. "Unless that's his new pet name for you."

Prompto could practically feel the heat coming off of his face at this point. Grabbing the pillow from behind him he smooshed his face into it and let out a exasperated groan. He loved his older brother, he was a good and caring guy, but he was also the older brother! He knew just how to tease and mess with Prompto to make him feel all embarrassed, but at least it was done with a good heart over wanting to upset him.

But still he never felt so embarrassed before! And now that he had told his brother, he knew it would probably only get worse from there. But he was going to have to prepare himself for all of that. He needed to be ready for what would come next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with this being the 10th chapter, I thought for fun I would open up to answer some questions.
> 
> If you guys got any questions on the world lore that I built up here, feel free to ask. I will try to answer as best I can as long as it isn't too spoilery. Just as a way to say thanks and also have some fun :D
> 
> Anyways thank you all always!! Cloud is such a good brother isn't he? XP


	11. Chapter 11

Ardyn was true to his word and did not stay longer than an hour, which still left the entire rest of the day for Noctis. He could only hope that no one else would be coming to visit him at this point, no one else besides Prompto at least.

Taking out his phone he did what he wanted to do the most; text Prompto.

 **Noctis:** yo so my uncle left  
 **Noctis:** you can head back now

 **Prompto:** Ah!  
 **Prompto:** Well turns out I had my brother also pay me a surprise visit.  
 **Prompto:** He's here right now

 **Prompto:** But maybe akgoaofksp WWF b

Noctis blinked the text that just came in. He wasn't sure quite what to make of them but quickly it was followed by another text.

 **Prompto:** Sorry!  
 **Prompto:** My brother keeps trying to steal my phone from me!  
 **Prompto:** He's being annnnnoooying!!!!

 **Noctis:** why is he trying to steal your phone?

 **Prompto:** Cause he wants to mess with me!!!  
 **Prompto:** He knows!

 **Noctis:** knows… what?

 **Prompto:** About us!

 **Noctis:** you mean you told him!?!

 **Prompto:** No!  
 **Prompto:** I mean  
 **Prompto:** Kind of  
 **Prompto:** Not really!  
 **Prompto:** I didn't mean too  
 **Prompto:** But he already figured something was up cause Zack asked him if he knew I was friends with you!

 **Noctis:** Zack…?

 **Prompto:** Oh! It's Dr. Fair!  
 **Prompto:** But I'm really really really really sorrrrry!!!!  
 **Prompto:** I didn't mean to tell Cloud about us and stuff! But he was being a big meanie big brother! :(

Noctis sighed as he thought over the matter. He knew him being in the hospital was supposed to stay a secret to the staff and no one else. They didn't want any publicity over the matter at all as it would only end badly. But this was something different, this had to do with Prompto. He felt like he could trust Prompto as well as his brother. Besides if he was going to be stuck in the hospital for a while, the inevitable meeting of the older brother would come eventually.

 **Noctis:** nah it's okay  
 **Noctis:** I guess brothers will be like that  
 **Noctis:** is he still messing with you?

 **Prompto:** He keeps trying to take my phone!!  
 **Prompto:** He wants to be weird and stuff teasing about us.

 **Prompto:** Aahhhhhh he's driving me crazy!!!

 **Noctis:** well why don't you bring him here then?  
 **Noctis:** maybe he'll calm down if he meets me  
 **Noctis:** you think?

 **Prompto:** You want to meet him?  
 **Prompto:** Like right now?

 **Noctis:** yeah  
 **Noctis:** if you want to  
 **Noctis:** or we could video call  
 **Noctis:** would save time at least  
 **Noctis:** whatever is easier

 **Prompto:** Oh!  
 **Prompto:** Yeah we could do that!

Noctis then clicked on the call button and the video screen was brought up. When the camera showed his face he winced. His face still fairly bruised and it still made him feel unsettled. He was ready to click off the camera when Prompto picked up. He held his breath as he saw Prompto staring for a moment before smiling.

"Hey," Prompto greeted causally as he waved.

"Hey," Noctis waved back.

"So… uh yeah…" Prompto rubbed the back of his neck. "Cloud keeps staring at me so I guess… uh this is Cloud."

Prompto leaned back and titled his phone, panning the camera to the side. To his side was Cloud, albeit a much older Cloud then what Noctis had seen in the pictures before. He still had that natural serious look as Prompto explained before, but at the same time he could see a kind smile understand all that seriousness.

"Uh hi," Noctis said once he realized he was staring. "You're Prompto's older brother?"

"Yup," Cloud answered. "And so that means you're the boy who has a crush on my brother."

Noctis could feel the blood drain away from his face, yet at the same time it was burning up in his cheeks. He couldn't even find any words to say to that. Was he even supposed to say anything?

"Cloooooud," Prompto whined. "You can't just talk to him like that! He's the… the well you know!"

"He's _the_ boyfriend, yes I know," Cloud snarked. "Which still makes what I said true."

"And is there something wrong with that?" Noctis finally managed to ask.

Cloud shook his head. "Nah nothing wrong. Just wanted to see how you'd react. You're good though."

"Okay…" Noctis said as he glanced over to Prompto on the screen. "So ah… now what?"

Noctis honestly hated small talk and he was having trouble as usual finding a conversation starter. If it was just him and Prompto he was sure he could manage, but with his brother there it made things a bit harder. Thankfully he had nothing against Cloud being there, he seemed like he was actually a nice guy aside from his snarky attitude. But now Noctis felt lost as to what he could talk about. He was sure that he couldn't just go and chat with Prompto like before, he wasn't all too sure how Cloud would react to watching his brother get flirted with anyway.

"Well how about you two tell me what you've been up to," Cloud replied, smirking slightly. "I think I should know just what exactly you two have been doing.

Prompto frowned again. "Cloud come oooon! Don't keep teasing us like that!"

"But I told you before," Cloud replied as he ruffled Prompto's hair. "These are all rules in being a big brother. So I gotta act on them otherwise I'm not doing my job."

Noctis could see Prompto fidget, nearly dropping his phone as he tried to bat away Cloud from messing his hair up. He chuckled as he watched the scene play out. He had seen Gladio and Iris interact playfully before, and Gladio for sure felt just as protective as Cloud did. But there was just something different with these two, maybe because they were brothers rather than a brother and a sister. Either way it was interesting for Noctis to see.

Eventually Cloud started to tell of his adventures he had while on deliveries. It was something to pass the time and also and fill the space that Noctis didn't know how to use.

In the end of it all, the conversation between the three of them wasn't as bad as Noctis feared. Still he was thankful that Cloud didn't seem like the time to come down on him for liking Prompto. He seemed to understand and looked rather pleased by the sound of it.

After a while Cloud finally had decided to leave, saying he had to get home. Now that it was just Prompto and Noctis again, both of them were grinning at each other.

"So… hey."

"Hey yourself," Prompto laughed.

"Your brother… seems nice at least."

"Yeah, he didn't scare you too much did he?"

Noctis shook his head. "Nah, he seems cool. Plus that motorcycle he talked about seems pretty sweet."

"Fenrir is really impressive. I've gotten a couple of rides on it before… before…" Prompto trailed off.

Even without saying it, Noctis knew what Prompto was trying to say. He couldn't help his curiosity though as he decided to actually ask the question that pestered his mind. "Can I ask… if it's okay… just how long have you been here? In the hospital I mean?"

Noctis could see Prompto's expression change, becoming more solemn. "Oh…"

"Ah! You don't have to say it! It was stupid of me to ask! I'm sorry!" Noctis cut in quickly.

"No, it's okay… I think you do deserve to know, not like it's some bad secret. Just haven't talked about it in a while. But…" Prompto looked off to the side before closing his eyes. "Nearly five years ago."

"But didn't you say that five years ago…"

"Almost… After the fire burned down my town I came here to live with my brother. A few months later I started showing… symptoms and then I was brought here."

"Wait you've seriously been here since you were ten-years-old?!" Noctis asked, coming off more blunt than he would have wished.

Prompto frowned again as he slumped back in his bed. He sighed deeply as he stared staring at the camera again. "Y-Yeah… seems like so much longer." There was something in his tone that seemed different than before. His voice cracked a little as he pursed his lips.

Seeing that expression on Prompto twisted something in Noctis's stomach. He instantly regretted everything he had asked and said. "I'm sorry…" He felt like he should have said more, but those were the only words that left his lips. He couldn't seem to find the words to say anymore, and Prompto's uneasy face and silence was making him feel even worse.

"It's okay," Prompto replied, his voice breaking again. It was hard to tell through the video call, but Noctis swore he could see tears building up in his eyes.

"N-No," Noctis replied. "It was wrong of me to ask… I shouldn't have. I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Noct, it's fine… you don't have to be sorry… please." Prompto swallowed, looking more and more reserved by the moment. "I think… I think I just need some space or time or personal time wherever." Prompto sniffled slightly as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Prompto… I um… I…"

The call ended before Noctis could say anything, leaving him with an empty pit in his stomach. With the call over, he was back on the screen of the text messages with nothing new to see. He reached his hand closer to try and send a text, to say something… to say anything. But he froze, the unsettling feeling twisting and turning in him.

Suddenly he dropped his phone and pressed his hands to his face. "I'm so stupid! Why the hell did I ask him something like that!"

Noctis's breath wavered, his own tears decided to show up and make everything in his vision blurry. "I-I shouldn't have asked him… I can't even imagine how he feels… being here that long."

It felt like he couldn't even breathe for a moment, everything swirled and twisted in his mind. His words… his choice… it all screwed up everything. He already knew how Prompto felt about his illness yet he let his own curiosity get the better of him and he asked anyways about it. Now he had paid the price.

"I'm sorry…" Noctis muttered to no one but himself. "I'm sorry Prompto. I didn't want to upset you… gods I'm so stupid. Please don't… don't let this ruin anything. I'm sorry…"

He kept on muttering and pleading to himself, knowing it wouldn't do a thing, it wasn't going to reach Prompto. He had the thought to text Prompto, to send his messages how sorry he was, but he felt so afraid. Prompto said he wanted his personal space and texting him would just be bothering him. The last thing Noctis wanted to do was make this any worse than he had already. All he could do was sit there and mull over his mistake and hope that it wasn't over, he couldn't imagine that nor did he even want to. But all he could do was wait now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops my angst hand must have taken control. Just a little lol, cause gotta have that angst. Anyways heh, trying to pick up the pace and all but still got so many more things planned. 
> 
> Anyways we shall keep moving on and I shall see you next time!!


	12. Chapter 12

By the next morning Noctis woke up feeling like crap. It wasn't that he was tired or annoyed to wake up early, but he just felt awful inside. For the rest of the evening yesterday he had not heard back from Prompto at all. There had been many times where he had thought to text Prompto back, but every time he tried he froze up mid thought. He wanted to say things, he wanted to apologize as much as he could, but he couldn't find the courage to say anything.

He felt like it would be cowardly to apologize behind a text anyways. Text itself could be misinterpreted all the time and the last thing Noctis wanted to do was make this any worse. While there was a thought that he was just over dramatic the entire thing, the other part of his mind told him he should worry. He had never been in a situation like this before.

He never had a true friend before that was outside of the Citadel. This was something new and different and if he was being perfectly honest with himself… it scared him a little. Fifteen years old and he was scared about what someone thought of him. Someone… who quickly became friends with him… someone he warmed up to faster than he did with Ignis or Gladio or anyone else back at the Citadel.

Prompto was someone special and Noctis still couldn't find the ways to describe it. But he knew that Prompto was unlike anyone else he knew, and he didn't want to lose that. It was so important to him… Prompto was important. Not only because of how quickly they connected and stuff, but also he was his boyfriend now. They both had these feelings… Noctis was thankful for that as he wasn't sure how he would have reacted if Prompto never returned the same feelings. But now he knew there was something that had to be done. Waiting longer and longer on it would only make it worse, yet he still could not shake off his fear.

" _Get yourself together already!"_ Noctis scolded himself. " _If you love him, you gotta not give up. That's what you do in these situations right? I can't just give up on him. I need… I have to try."_

Breathing in several times, Noctis finally pulled his phone back out and unlocked it. He opened up his chat with Prompto and finally started to type something. His heart was beginning to race, but this time he didn't let himself delete his messages so easily.

 **Noctis:** hey…  
**Noctis:** um I hope you're doing okay  
**Noctis:** just ah…  
**Noctis:** just let me know okay?  
**Noctis:** if you wanna talk  
**Noctis:** if not it's fine and stuff

Letting out a long breath he closed his phone and began to stare up at the ceiling. All that was left to do was wait for Prompto to respond. But even then each passing second was agonizingly painful. He hated having to wait and he had to resist his urge to send another influx of text to Prompto. He needed to try and seem cool rather than how he really felt internally.

Suddenly his phone made the default pinging sound and Noctis held his breath again. He slowly tilted the phone up and read who the message was from. He was thankful that it said Prompto, as he wasn't too sure if he could deal with texting anyone else at the moment. But now all he had to do was unlock the phone and read what was sent.

 **Prompto:** Heyas,  
**Prompto:** I'm okay… just a bit tired.  
**Prompto:** No big deal though.

The words were simple and it was enough to twist worry into Noctis's stomach. He couldn't tell how Prompto was feeling from those few words, the meaning could have gone either way. But he couldn't let it end there, he needed to fight this fear that was eating away at his gut.

 **Noctis:** hey so… could we talk?

 **Prompto:** We're talking right now lol.

 **Noctis:** no  
**Noctis:** I mean…  
**Noctis:** like talk talk  
**Noctis:** I just…. I just need to say something and I really need to say it to you

 **Prompto:** Oh.  
**Prompto:** Okay. Yeah we can do that.

Noctis sighed, feeling like he was getting somewhere, but all at the same time he felt scared. He was still afraid of how Prompto was thinking of him. Did he even want to talk? Or was he just doing it to be nice? There was no way of telling until he hit that call button… then he could have his answer.

His thumb hovered over the button, lingering with all of his thoughts. While one side of him was all of this fidgety nervousness, the other side kept yelling at himself to stop being stupid. Finally trying to listen to that side again he went to actually press the call button… but at the last second he chickened out slightly and hit the voice call over video call.

He sighed at himself before putting the phone to his ear. He couldn't back out now, not unless he wanted to make it worse. He waited only two rings before Prompto finally picked up on the other end.

_"Hello? Noct?"_

"Yeah… hey…" he muttered softly. "Listen… I really wanted to…" He swallowed as he tried to fight to push the words out. It was hard, but he had to keep trying. It was the only thing he had ever been so determined to try and he needed to keep going.

_"Really wanted to… what?"_

Suddenly, as if someone snapped their fingers, all of his emotions came rushing forward. "I wanted to apologize. Like I really really shouldn't have said what I said. It was so stupid of me. Gods I don't even know what I was thinking when I asked. I just feel so stupid… and just…I'm just really sorry I made you feel bad."

There was a pause but Noctis was sure he could hear Prompto breathing on the other end. After a few moments, though to Noctis it felt like hours, Prompto spoke up. He was chuckling lightly. _"Wow, I didn't expect that."_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_"I mean like you spasticly apologizing to me. Usually being spastic is my thing. But yeah… ah thanks. You didn't need to though. I was the one who rudely hung up on you."_

"No, it made sense why you did that. I was being too insensitive even though I understand… kind of… and I shouldn't have been so blunt about it."

_"No seriously Noct, it's okay. But wait… you understand?"_

"This isn't the first time I've been stuck in the hospital," Noctis replied. "I… I was stuck in a hospital for a few months once after a car accident."

Honestly Noctis never thought he would ever bring up that story. He wanted to forget it as best as he could. Even now to this day the memories from that night still burned in the back of his mind, forever haunting him. But saying it to Prompto brought a sense of relief off of his chest. Somehow just telling a simple version of it was enough to relax his mind a little on the subject.

" _Oh… Geez I had no idea."_

"I was only eight-years-old," Noctis added softly, hoping that Prompto wouldn't misconceive how he was trying to relate.

" _Oh wow… man I never would have guessed. So like I guess you really can understand in a way."_

"Yeah, but my legs never seem to have it easy," Noctis replied as he gave a bittersweet laugh.

He could hear Prompto laughing slightly. " _Yeah I guess so…. So um… we're cool then?"_

Noctis smiled happily. "Yeah we're cool. Now how about you get over here so we can play more video games?"

" _Right back to the fun! Sounds great! I'll be over in a few!"_

"Good, and bring your glasses," Noctis added quickly.

" _A-Ah, you really want to see me in them again?"_

"I already said you were cute in them, so of course yes!"

" _Okay okay! I'll be over there soon!"_

When the call ended, Noctis smiled happily once more. Prompto wasn't mad at him or upset anymore. They worked it through and now things could go back to how they were before. But at least they now had an understanding between one another, and Noctis knew he just had to remind himself to not ask always the first thing that was on his mind. But other than that things felt good again and that was what mattered most.

Prompto came along soon enough, glasses and all, and took his seat next to the bed. "So what game are we going to play today?"

"Hmm I don't know, I mean we could play more Mario Kart and I could wipe the floor with you."

"Hey no! I won last time fair and square!"

"Well I still gotta win this time! I gotta be the very best! Neither Gladio or Ignis have even beaten me so much in the game, and Ignis is the only one who is a good triver between the three of us!"

"Well then I guess you found someone who is a whole other level above you!" Prompto cheered boastfully.

Leaning forward he brought his face closer towards Noctis's. Both of them froze on the spot, staring into each other's eyes. Noctis hadn't noticed it before, but he could see a light purple ring that was around Prompto's pupil. It blended into the blue nicely, but at the same time when he really looked at it, he could see the contrast.

Suddenly Prompto pulled away, his face covered in a deep blush. "S-Sorry…"

"Why are you sorry? What if I liked staring at your eyes? They're a nice color."

"Th-Thanks," Prompto muttered. "That's a weird way of putting it though."

Smiling broadly Noctis reached out and took hold of one of Prompto's hands. He gently squeezed it. "No prob, and I guess I am just a little weird." A moment passed before Noctis decided to continue speaking. "Oh also… I forgot to say it yesterday, but I'm really glad your brother is okay with us, you know dating and stuff."

"Yeah, but don't be surprised if he tries to show up more. You know doing that brother thing or whatever."

"Nah I don't think he'll be too bad. We'll survive right?"

"Course we will!" Prompto agreed. "Though… what about on the other side? You know… like your bodyguard guys and stuff?"

Noctis sighed and shook his head. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But I won't let them talk down to you or try and separate us. Don't know if they will… but I won't let you go."

"Aw thanks Noct. Ready to play some games?"

"You're on!"

* * *

Gladio walked down the hallway, glancing around at every person he passed. He knew that King Regis trusted this hospital and the staff, but that didn't mean Gladio was going to let his guard down. He was still Noct's shield, and he would take down any threats if he saw one. He knew that he always had to be ready now, he couldn't let anything slip past him… not again.

He nearly came to a halt as the thoughts assaulted his mind. He had been told again and again by not only his own father, but King Regis himself that what had happened wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault that Noctis ended up here beaten and bruised with two broken legs. Somehow everyone was telling him that it wasn't his fault… even Ignis was one of those who said it. He was still young, only 18, and he still had a long way to go in his training. Gladio did blame Noctis over the issue mainly, but at the same time he felt like he still had to blame himself for not being there or getting there in time. He nearly failed at his job and the fearful 'what ifs' still plague him over if he hadn't made it in time.

" _Get a hold of yourself, Gladio,"_ he told himself. " _Just moping over it isn't going to help. Gotta get over it… by working to be stronger that'll really help. Yeah… just keep it in mind."_

Back on track he turned down the hallway and looked for the room number. As he was coming closer to the room that Noctis was in, he could hear loud laughter. He slowed his pace again and walked up against the wall. Moving carefully he approached the room and peered into the room since the door was wide open. He had a feeling that he could have walked in on this, based on what Ignis had told him before. So now it was his time to watch from afar to determine just what he thought about this kid who was hanging out with Noctis.

They had read up about him as much as they could and from what the background information told, he was a good kid. But to Gladio none of that mattered to him… well it did but he also wanted to make his own opinions of the kid. He still felt bad to read up that a kid Noctis's age was stuck in the hospital for years with eh Starscourge, and the kid had lost his parents at the age of 10 as well.

This kid, Prompto, hadn't had an easy life from what Gladio had read with Ignis. But he reminded himself he needed to try and keep a clear opinion on it. As Noctis's shield he was going to have to do better now with others who were around him. If he really wanted to protect his prince, who he was sworn to protect, then he needed to take the measures necessary.

As he peered into the room from a safe angle, he could see Noctis sitting up in bed with Prompto right next to them. Both of them were still laughing, pointing at Noctis's phone, which was most likely the source of the amusingment. Soon enough Noctis placed the phone on the table and pulled Prompto into an awkward hug as carefully as he could, trying not to pull any of the IVs that Prompto had.

Ah Noct! Let go! You're going to mess up my hair!"

"That's the idea!" Noctis laughed. "I've gone this long but I can't restrain myself anymore. I just had to mess up the chocobo fluff!"

"But I'm not not a chocobo!" Prompto replied as he pouted heavily, yet he did not try to pull away from Noctis.

"You keep telling yourself that, but I can see the truth!"

Gladio watched them a little longer, seeing them playfully banter with one another. When he felt like he had enough he grunted quietly and turned around, heading away from the room. Ignis was right though, those two were talking and laughing as if they had been friends for years. Aside from that there was the way Noctis was smiling… a kind of smile Gladio was sure he had never seen on the kid before.

Sure he smiled and laughed at jokes that were made, but there always seemed to be some distance or reserve in his emotions. It was like he was always trying to hide away from everything and never show what he was truly feeling.

Now Gladio was no expert on those kinds of emotions, but there was a thing or two he had learned from reading those romance novels that he enjoyed. Sure they probably were not accurate to real life, but it was all he had to go on for how someone was with their emotions. From what he could tell, Noctis was being far more open and expressive with Prompto than he had with anyone back at the Citadel.

It was baffling to say the least, but at the same time rather curious. Just what was it about Prompto that made Noctis act so open? What was said between them that made them connect? Gladio tried to ponder it, but nothing was coming to mind. But he figured if he could talk it out with Ignis, maybe they could come to some sort of solution. It was surprising though, to see Noctis smiling and laughing like that… Gladio would never have been convinced if he had never seen it with his own eyes.

When he got back to the Citadel he swung by Ignis's room and knocked on the door. He waited a moment before he heard Ignis say he could enter. As soon as he stepped inside Ignis was staring at him with a confused glance. "Gladio? I thought you were to visit Noct today? Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened, Iggy. I was just on my way to see him when I saw that the kid was there."

"Do you mean Prompto?" Ignis asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes. What other kid could there be? Anyways, they were just laughing and having fun it seemed. Didn't want to interrupt them. I can always visit Noct another day."

"And you just decided to leave the two of them alone instead?"

"Iggy, I know you are concerned for Noct, but be reasonable about this. Princess never made any friends in school yet, so this could actually be a sign of improvement."

"Yes I know, I know," Ignis replied. He sighed heavily before making his way over to the chair that was in the room. Flopping down he ran a hand through his hair. "But I still can be concerned if I wish to. I am Noct's advisor and have been his caretaker for the last several years."

"And I'm his shield. Iggy, we both want to protect Noct, but don't we also want what's best for him? Seeing him smile like that is unlike anything I've seen from him before."

"I agree… the way he was smiling. It reminded me almost of when Noct was young… before the first car accident. Cheerful and full of energy. That was what I saw in the brief moment when I had visited."

"There you see? Despite the background and illness the kid has, he's somehow made Noct happy. I had my doubts, but seeing it first hand really changed my view on him."

"Yes… but then there is yet another cause for concern," Ignis replied with a heavy sigh.

"And what would that be?"

"Prompto has the Starscourge. I am sure Noct may know by this point considering they must have been talking these past few days. But if the disease grows any worse for him, it could be a danger to himself and Noct. If it became severe and took the young blond's life… I am sure no doubt that Noct would be hurt by that."

"Yeah… kid's already lost enough in his life. But what do you think you're going to do about it? It has no cure."

"No cure as of yet. There are research teams that are investigating it. My point is though, if this friendship develops any further, then those measures will have to be taken."

"You mean…?"

"We will have to look into just how much research has been done for curing the Starscourge."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dumb random atl dialogue that came to my head as I was writing (but I didn't use cause it was just random and I was tired)  
> "So what game are we going to play today, Noct?"  
> "The same thing we do everyday, Prompto. Play video games." (I am terrible at making references I am sorry)
> 
> Anyways! Prompto with the purple blue eyes is now my next thing cause I find it interesting. Plus that Gladio scene was really unexpected how long it went but it's what happened. 
> 
> Thank you all still so much for reading this! And if you enjoy Promptis (which of course you would if you are here) and other ships (or just Promptis) then come join this new FFXV Discord server a friend of mine made! [Here](https://discord.gg/vJ5zJ5U)


	13. Chapter 13

Noctis sighed happily as he ran his hand through Prompto's hair. It had taken a lot of persuasion, but Prompto finally let him mess with his hair. It was practically soothing as he repeated the stroking motion, and it seemed Prompto enjoyed it as well, letting out a happy hum here and there.

Eventually Prompto shifted a little, turning his head up to look at Noctis. "You think I'll get a turn? You know switch and stuff?"

"If you want to I guess" Noctis said as he lifted his hand away and Prompto sat back up. "But I was thinking… is this all there is too it?"

"All there is to what?" Prompto asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Y-You know. Us… You and me. Uh… dating stuff."

"Oh… Oh!" Prompto's eyes widened. "Well I guess there is more to it. I mean I know there is more cause my brother is married. I've heard more than enough from him. Boy I could tell some stories, but I'm sure that Cloud would have my head if I tried to talk about them. You really don't wanna see him when he actually is scary."

"With that serious gaze he has I can believe it. But with that stuff… like there is more, isn't there?"

"Y-You mean like," Prompto pursed his lips together. "Kissing?"

Noctis tried his best to hold on his laughter. "Dude we're not six. It's not some forbidden gross word."

Prompto nodded. "You're right. But…"

"But what? What's wrong with something like kissing? Don't tell me you're nervous or something!" Noctis grinned as he leaned in closer to Prompto.

Right away Prompto leaned back, shaking his head. "No, no! I'm not nervous! It's not that…"

"Oh…" Noctis slowly backed away from his teasing when he saw how worried Prompto really was. "Sorry… what's wrong?"

"It's just… with the Starscrouge… I don't want to risk anything."

"But it's not contagious. You can't just pass it on to someone by kissing. It's like through blood and stuff."

"I know… but still! I don't want to risk it! What if it mutates or something and it can be passed by kissing? Or worse, what if I had a fit and started coughing up blood, then I would have blood in my mouth and… and…"

Noctis could seem that Prompto was starting to hyperventilate. The last thing he wanted to happen was have Prompto suffer some panic attack. He could only imagine what it would mean for his body. While he still wasn't extremely knowledgeable in the Starscourge he was sure raising the heart rate was not a good thing when having that illness.

Quickly Noctis reached forward and pulled Prompt into his arms. Prompto's body was shaking within his arms and that only made Noctis hold him even tighter. He started to stroke his back, hoping it was doing some good.

"I don't… I don't wanna be the guy who gave the Crown Prince the Starscourge. I'm sure I'd be hanged or something for that."

"No you wouldn't be hanged. That's old world stuff."

"So I'd be thrown in the dungeon to life out the rest of my days."

It was hard to tell, but Noctis could have sworn Prompto was being a bit snarky with it. He was already coming down, but Noctis had yet to let go. "I wouldn't let that happen even if it were true. Trust me Prompto nothing bad is going to happen to you. But… we don't have to do that kissing stuff right now. I think we're supposed to date more first, right? Before some big dramatic kiss under moonlight."

Prompto laughed. "What cheesy romance movies were you forced to watch as a child?"

"Close but not quite. More like Gladio is always reading these dumb novels and going on about ' _how well written'_ the romance is. Uugh. It gets tiring after a while."

"Oh boy I can imagine," Prompto replied with a sigh. "But yeah, let's just take things slow, okay?"

Noctis almost had forgotten Prompto was resting against his chest again. He didn't mind though, as it was rather relaxing to have him resting there peacefully.

"Slow. That can work," Noctis agreed.

Part of him wanted to say they could really pick up things once they were both out of the hospital, but for Prompto that was to be debated. Unless there was some way to cure the Starscourge, he wouldn't be able to leave. From there it was only left to time how well he would be able to manage against it. He already lasted five years so far, but who was to say what was to come.

Honestly Noctis really didn't want to think about the future. He did but at the same time he didn't because of all the worries that came with it. He had no idea what the future would bring for him and Prompto, he could only hope that good things would come from it.

* * *

Within the next couple days Noctis's legs had recovered enough that he could properly use a wheelchair. Though he would still require assistance to get in and out of the wheelchair, he was at least able to move around the hospital floor. With his new freedom, that meant one thing to him; he could go and visit Prompto finally.

He still had to ask what room Prompto was in, but thankfully Dr. Fair was more than happy to give that information. He happily told him what room Prompto was in and went on about how nice it was that Prompto finally was having another visitor besides his brother. He rambled something else after that point, but Noctis had already wheeled away, not caring to hear what else the doctor had to say.

He wheeled down the hallways, making the turns when needed and then soon arrived down to where Prompto's room was. He knocked on the door and peered inside. "Prompto?"

Prompto was sitting at the desk in his room, writing down something when Noctis had spoken up. "Ah! Noct! You didn't text me you were coming!"

"I wanted to be a surprise. I got my wheels now so I am free to roam… as long as I stay on this floor of course."

"Hmm Noct on wheels. Sounds like some really bad band name. Or a really strange delivery service."

"Are you a part of this really bad delivery service that is also a part time band?" Noctis chuckled as he wheeled closer.

"I don't know… am I?"

"Well if you are, then it would make everything a whole lot better," Nocits replied as he smiled near smugly.

Prompto's face was already turning red as Noctis stopped his wheelchair next to the table. "Thanks dude."

"No problem. So… what are you up to?" Noctis asked as he leaned his arms on top of the table.

"Just writing to my pen pal… and I've been meaning to ask if you maybe-"

"Wait Luna?!" Noctis exclaimed. He picked up one of the lettered on the table, nearly squinting at the finely written name. "You know Luna?!

"Yeah that's what I was trying to say. We're pen pals. Have been ever since I came here," Prompto answered as he placed his pen down for the time being.

"Wow, what a small world, right?" Noctis laughed. "Who would have thought that you two knew each other and had been writing back and forth for five years. So… you guys ever talk about me?"

Prompto shook his head. "It never came up in our conversations. I always had a feeling that you two knew each other though. Do all princes and princesses know each other?"

"Well we at least know _of_ each other. I know Luna and her brother though. I've actually gone to Tenebrae before. But like that other prince, Loqi of Niflheim, never met him. Not yet at least. Ugh I kind of dread it though based on what I heard about the guy."

Prompto nodded in agreement. "I may have only been 10 when I left home… but oh yeah I heard stories of him. But maybe they're just stories? Maybe he isn't as bratty as the people say? I mean rumors are a thing."

"True. Some of those gossip magazines think I'm some cold-hearted uncaring prince, so I wouldn't put it past news in Niflheim to do the same to their own prince," Noctis replied as he sighed deeply.

"You? Coldhearted? Those magazines are full of crap!" Prompto exclaimed. "You're the complete opposite of that. You're full on nerdy dork."

Noctis snorted slightly. "And that's something better for them to gossip about?"

"Nah, but it's just good to know, you know for me, that you aren't all that. You're so much better."

Reaching out, Prompto placed a hand on top of Noctis's, grinning widely. In return Noctis placed his other hand on top of Prompto's, sandwiching his hand in the sense. The moment around them just seemed to slow as Noctis found himself staring into Prompto's eyes. Once again he was captivated by the beautiful color that they were. He would have kept on staring if there wasn't a knock on the door.

The boys turned to see that Cloud was walking in, grinning rather smugly. "I'm not interrupting am I?"

"Cloud!" Prompto pouted. "Why do you keep making surprise visits?"

"Cause I can?" Cloud shrugged as he placed his jacket on one of the chairs. "Gotta keep you two on your toes. Not letting any funny business happen under my watch."

"Cloooooud," Prompto started to sigh when suddenly his expression changed. It started to look more mischievous. "Did you tell Zack you were coming? He was pretty sad the last time you snuck in and out without notice."

Noctis raised an eyebrow slightly. _"Zack… that's the first name of Dr. Fair. Why would he be upset if Prompto's brother came to visit unannounced?"_

Cloud just shook his head as he stepped further into the room. "You know he stays dedicated to his job when on the clock. He knows better than that."

"Unless he is being too energetic," Prompto said as he rolled his eyes.

"You're not wrong. But he knows better than that," Cloud admitted.

"Yeah right. You know he has his little "Cloud is here" 6th sense," Prompto retorted.

Before Cloud could even reply, none other than Dr. Fair burst into the room as if on cue. "Clooooud!"

Without even a single warning he threw his arms around Cloud. His weight crashed into the older blond, and Noctis was sure the two of them would go crashing down to the floor. But much to his surprise, Cloud was able to stand his ground and barely was reacting. He just smiled softly before returning a hug.

"Cloudy baby," Dr. Fair whined again. "Why didn't you tell me you were visiting today? You know I miss you!"

"See?" Prompto stated. "What did I tell you?"

"Aren't you on the clock?" Cloud asked strictly, paying no attention to what Prompto said.

"Nope," he smirked and pulled back from the hug. "I'm on lunch. Which means you are mine."

The kindest smile graced Cloud's face, kinder than anything Noctis had ever seen on him yet. Then again he had only seen a couple pictures and talked to him once over a video call. But he always seemed so serious usually, this type of expression almost seemed strange to see on him.

But what shocked Noctis the most was that Dr. Fair kissed Cloud right on the lips. Noctis's mouth dropped open and he quickly turned to Prompto to see his reaction. But unlike him, Prompto seemed to be calm and unaffected by the display of affection.

But he did roll his eyes at it. "You know we're still right here."

Cloud and Zack pulled away from their kiss and Cloud finally turned back around to look at the two boys. "Yeah I know. But I guess I'll have to come back later."

Zack wrapped an arm around Cloud and started to pull him out of the room. "That's right! It's lunch time now and I need a little time with my Cloudy!"

Before Noctis could even blink, Zack had already pulled Cloud out of the room and down the hall. Though now that he was alone again, he turned to look at Prompto. "So… um what was that about?"

"What do you mean?" Prompto asked as he tilted his head to the side. "Didn't I tell you that they were married?"

Noctis gawked, nearly choking on air. "Wha-! Married? No! No you didn't."

"Oh… well they're married," Prompoto replied bluntly as he added a cheeky grin afterwards.

"Well no shit," Noctis grumbled. "But like… seriously? Your brother and Dr. Fair, like how did they…"

"They were childhood friends. We all grew up in Nibelheim and they were always that close." Prompto answered. "But they only got married a couple years back."

"Wow… I never would have guessed. They're like complete opposites or something."

Prompto shrugged casually. "Eh, Zack is like the only one who can really bring out the softer side of Cloud or whatever. Cloud was actually the whole reason Zack became a doctor in the first place."

"Wait really? What happened?"

Prompto let out a long sigh before closing his eyes. "I guess to start, maybe my brother and I have never been so lucky. What I mean is… when Cloud was younger, around 10 or so… he and Zack were goofing off in some of the caves outside of town. There were some hidden mako pools… and Cloud fell in. He was in a mako coma for a year and…" Prompto breathed in slowly as he tried to continue. "After that he did suffer with some bad mako poisoning for the next couple years. But he's better now of course. That was years ago anyways…"

"Oh Prompto…" Noctis reached out and placed. "I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. He got better and it inspired Zack to become a doctor, so he could help save others, and why he's also my doctor. Cloud trusts him more than anyone here to watch over me. Plus it gives me some hope for one day…"

"One day?"

"One day I'll actually get better and get to live my life again."

Something twitched in Noctis's heart. It stung and burned for a moment before it faded away, but there was still a left over feeling there lingering. He hated the thought that Prompto might never get to leave the hospital. He wanted to be with Prompto so much and he wanted to show him the world. He wanted to take him to the chocobo farm, but it could never happen if he was always stuck in the hospital. If he was always plagued by the Starscourge that still had no sign of a cure.

But…

Suddenly a thought came to Noctis's mind and he was mad he had not thought of it sooner. Reaching forward he took Prompto's hands and held them closer to his chest. "Prompto. I really have no idea what I am doing. But I swear… I promise you I am going to put whatever money I can into research for curing the Starscrouge. I don't want you to have to worry… I just… I… I really want to be able to do something for you."

"N-Noct…"

"Please. I might not be able to be as good as Zack and become a doctor, but I will do whatever I can to help. I love you and I can't bear to just sit around doing nothing. I want to do something… just anything."

Prompto was tearing up, trying to hold on to the smile he had on his face. "I can't believe…" he sniffled slightly. "That I actually have you in my life. Noct… just thank you. That means so much to me."

Moving closer to Noctis, Prompto wrapped his arms around him and held tight. He buried his face into Noctis's neck, tickling him slightly with his hair. Noctis's heart swelled with joy this time. This feeling… it was so warm and he had never truly felt anything like it before he met Prompto. It was a good feeling though that he embraced and wished for more of. More close moments with Prompto.

He still wasn't entirely sure how well it would be trying to fund research though. Plus with wanting that he knew he would have to talk to his father… and explain his reasoning. That would be another ordeal to deal with and he was getting the feeling it was going to be sooner rather than later. It would have to be if he wanted to act quickly. If he loved Prompto, which he really did, he was going to have to push through his fears and tell his father the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I got the instant of the Cloud and Zack sneaking in. *insert that You got your peanut butter in my chocolate commercial but with FF7 & FF15*. Still they are just meant for background characters and not a crossover. 
> 
> Either way thank you all as always for your wonderful support!
> 
> Also eventually I will have some new and upcoming FFXV fics, so be on the look out XD


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've reached 200 kudos on this fic and I am just so happy over here. I cannot thank you all enough for all of your support through this story! Now without any further delays let's get to the story!

Noctis sat up in his wheelchair, trying to adjust himself as best as he could. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, but still no matter how he shifted he never felt quite right. Maybe it was because his body still felt sore, with a lot of the bruises still not healed. His legs were another story all together, still still and with some pain depending how he moved them. Dr. Fair did reassure him though that they would heal and he would be able to walk again. Noctis only could wish for that day to come sooner. 

Trying to distract himself he picked up his phone and did what felt so normal to him now. 

**Noctis:** hey Prom

 **Prompto:** Heeey :)  
 **Prompto:** You doing okay?  
 **Prompto:** Your dad show up yet?”  
 **Prompto:** The KING I mean!!!

 **Noctis:** dude you can just call him my dad  
 **Noctis:** he is my dad after all  
 **Noctis:** just a dad…  
 **Noctis:** who’s usually always busy…

 **Prompto:** But he is coming today isn’t he?  
 **Prompto:** I thought you said you were told that he would be coming

 **Noctis:** yeah but doesn’t mean something comes up  
 **Noctis:** but maybe he might

 **Prompto:** Well I will hope then he shows up!

Just then a different message popped up from Ignis. 

**Noctis:** brb different text coming in

Switching chats he read the message from his advisor. 

**Specs:** Good morning Noct, I hope that you are awake by this hour. Have you taken your pain medications for the day?

 **Noctis:** yes mom…

 **Specs:** Good. And to answer the question I know you are thinking, yes His Majesty has left to visit you today. He should be arriving shortly. 

**Noctis:** thanks

 **Specs:** Noct, I hope you do not mind me asking, but have you been feeling all right? I know with my own work and Gladio’s we have not been able to see you in a good few days, but you know you can still reach out to either of us when you need something.

 **Noctis:** nothing’s wrong  
 **Noctis:** just tired I guess  
 **Noctis:** with being stuck here… games help but you think maybe next time you come you can bring new ones to switch with the others…  
 **Noctis:** or can I be allowed more than five games now?

 **Specs:** You won’t be sitting around everyday once you’re in rehab, so I am afraid I cannot let you have more games. You need to focus most of your time on recovery and seeing how well you can walk again. I will though on the other hand switch the games if you so desire, just be sure to inform me which ones you want. 

**Noctis:** okay I got it  
 **Noctis:** thanks again  
 **Noctis:** King’s Knight for tonight?

 **Specs:** Sounds like a plan, I’ll inform Gladio about it so he knows. Have a good time with your father visiting.

 **Noctis:** thanks again  
 **Noctis:** I’m sure I’ll be fine and stuff

With that taken care of he switched back his chat to the other one with Prompto. 

**Noctis:** okay I’m back

 **Prompto** : Great! So what do you wanna do until your dad shows up?

 **Noctis:** I donno  
 **Noctis:** well there is one thing…  
 **Noctis:** kind of related and important 

**Prompto:** Oh? What do you mean?” 

**Noctis:** I'm planning to tell him  
 **Noctis:** about me and what I like  
 **Noctis:** and then about you 

**Prompto:** Whoa whoa wait!  
 **Prompto:** You're really going to go and tell him??  
 **Prompto:** Just like that?!

Noctis couldn't tell if Prompto was angry or surprised, but he needed to try and go into this with a clear mind. If he wanted to get it off his chest, he had to expect a reaction from Prompto, and he just had to hope he wouldn't be too mad.

 **Noctis:** I gotta tell him eventually  
 **Noctis:** whether he supports me or not I want him to know  
 **Noctis:** cause I want you to be known in my life, I don't want to keep you a secret 

**Prompto:** Aww thanks buddy!  
 **Prompto:** You're making me blush over here =.=

 **Noctis:** good!  
 **Noctis:** that was my plan all along!  
 **Noctis:** muwahaha 

**Prompto:** I'll get back at you yet for this!!  
 **Prompto:** Just you wait!

 **Noctis:** just like the supposed nickname you were going to find for me?  
 **Noctis:** cause I'm still waiting for that my little chocobo butt :)

 **Prompto:** Noooooooct T_T  
 **Prompto:** Don't be a meanie! 

**Noctis:** I'm sorry D:

 **Prompto:** Okay I forgive you!  
 **Prompto:** Cause you said the magic words :)

Noctis chuckled and was ready to give a response when he heard a knock at his door. Looking over he saw his father's Shield, aka Gladio's dad Clarus. Behind him, Noctis could see that his dad was in fact standing there. He really truly had made it today to visit.

 **Noctis:** gotta go I think dad's here

Noctis didn't wait for a response as he put his phone onto the table. Looking over he saw his father enter the room while Clarus stood guard in the doorway. Right away Regis walked over and placed a hand gently onto Noctis's head.

"Son," Regis replied. "How are you feeling? Are they treating you well enough?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine and the staff is nice. No worries there."

Regis smiled before going to pull over one of the chairs. "Good. Now let me take a seat before we talk any further."

"Right…" Noctis nodded with a deep sigh.

It wasn't that he was annoyed his dad had come, in fact it was the opposite. He was more than happy to see him again, but in the past few years there had just been this distance he couldn't seem to fix. He knew his dad was king and that came with kingly responsibilities but there had been a lot of work lately working with the other nations of Eos. There was that and of course Noctis had school, so the time they used to spend together became limited. No longer did they really have time to spend with one another, going fishing or something else.

Sure he knew there were still days that they could have, but ever since this accident he hadn't seen or heard from his father at all. Not a single call or text, not that his father really knew how to text. But now they were here to talk, and Noctis felt at a loss what to say.

"Noct…" his father said with a deep sigh. "I know it may still be sensitive for you, but do you think we can talk about… that night?"

That was the last thing Noctis wanted to talk about. To have to bring up those memories again? The memories of the stupidest choice he probably ever made? No thanks, it would only cause further pain to everything else he was feeling.

"Please Noct, I know it may be painful, but know I am not mad or disappointed in you. I'm just thankful that I did not lose you," Regis reached forward and held Noctis's hands in his. "I nearly lost you once before, so what matters most is that you are alive and recovering."

"Then why do we have to talk about it?" Noctis replied as he turned his head again.

"The investigation is still ongoing for the criminals. You were the one who was captured by them, if there is anything important that you can remember, you must tell me. I have not gotten a good rest since all of this began and I won't be able to rest well again until those who hurt you are properly dealt with."

Noctis smiled as he faced his father again, glad to know that his father still loved him as strongly as ever. That did give him some reassurance that not all was lost between them. But still trying to explain the events and as to why they happened… it still hurt.

He could feel his father rubbing his thumbs gently over the top of his hands. A soothing motion he would do when Noctis was much younger, and it was still effective to calm him down. "Son, you don't have to talk about it right now if you do not wish to."

"Yeah… I don't think I am ready for it yet. But I'll try maybe later."

"All right I understand. A therapist though will come soon to talk to you once you are in rehab. Like the last time, just to help you pull through anything you may be feeling."

"Thanks," Noctis whispered.

"You know, as soon as you are out of here and walking again, the first thing we should do is go fishing like old times."

"But don't you still have other important things to take care of?"

"I've done enough with meetings and signing of important documents. You're my son and if i had it my way I would be here every day to visit. So once you are back I say that other stuff can wait a couple days."

Clarus, who still stood in the doorway, cleared his throat. "Your Majesty-"

"Come Clarus, I should be allowed to spend time with my son. I'm sure you would do the same for yours, correct? No need to be such a sour-coeurl."

Clarus gave a grumble that sounded like he agreed, but other than that he didn't verbally answer. Both Noctis and Reigs chuckled quietly to one another, equally being just as childish. If people thought that Regis was a serious and studious king, they weren't wrong, but little did the public know how down to earth and goofy he really could be.

"Oh, before I forget… I still have yet to understand that game you were telling me to try and play."

"You mean King's Knight? It's just a side scroller shooter game. It's really not that hard to figure out."

"Well for your old man it is hard," Regis chuckled. "You'll have to teach him again if you really want me to understand it."

Noctis laughed. "All right." He was just reaching for his phone when he froze, noting that he had a unread text message. It was no doubt from Prompto, but now that subject was back on his mind. Taking his phone into his hands, he stared down at it. "Actually dad… there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Hm? Something else? And what would that be?"

"Uh… well it's…" Noctis glanced to the door. "I'd rather tell you… privately."

Regis nodded and looked over to Clarus. "Well you heard him, Clarus. Give a father and his son some alone time."

"But Regis," Clarus started to say, but once again Regis was quick to cut him off.

"You can still stand outside. We're not going to go anywhere."

After a moment Clarus nodded and did as he was told, closing the door to let father and son have their alone time. Now that it was just the two of them, Regis moved his chair closer to sit alongside Noctis. "All right, now what is it that you wish to tell me?"

Noctis breathed in, reading himself for what he was about to do. He was about to tell his father the truth about how he felt, how he felt in his interests in others. He so badly wanted to tell his dad about Prompto, but there was still that fear that he would be shunned or rejected. Could his father really accept him for who he was? Would their bond still be the same or would it all fall a part in the end.

Noctis worried over these thoughts time and time again, but then he recalled the words from his uncle Ardyn. The words that had been spoken to him only a few days ago.

_"You would never be a disappointment. I know my brother well enough that he would not ever see you as such. You are his son that he loves."_

He left the words to linger in his mind again and again. He had thought and tried to plan it over how he would finally speak about it to his dad. He wanted to believe his uncle that his dad would still accept him, but he still had that small fear within him.

But then he thought of Prompto.

Wonderful precious Prompto.

He wanted so badly to tell his dad, and the thought of him accepting his relationship was just a wish, but he had to try. "There's something I've been waiting to talk about for the past couple of years… but I just wasn't sure how…"

Staring down at his phone, Noctis could see his own reflection in the screen since it was off. He could see how wavering his eyes were. How uncertain he felt, but he breathed deeply and kept on going.

"I… I don't…" Noctis sucked in another quick breath, trying to keep his voice from wavering too much. "I'm not interested in girls… I'm interested in guys. I-I mean… you know. I'm…"

His mouth felt dry, his tongue rough and dry as sandpaper. He was holding so much back he could barely contain it now. There was a sob that was clawing at his throat and he was trying to force its way up. Any moment now it would break as soon as his dad replied, He just knew it. It was coming and he would be rejected.

He was so sure of it…

But what he did not expect was his father to lean in close and wrap his arms around him. "Oh Noct. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"D-Dad? You're not upset? Th-That I'm gay?" Noctis whispered as he was pressed tight against his father's chest.

"Of course not! Why on Eos would I be upset with you?" Regis replied. He now had one hand on the back of Noctis's head, stroking it ever so slightly. "You are my one and only son. You mean the world to me and there is no way that I'd ever be disappointed in who you want to be. I just want to be a part of your life like a good father should be."

The sob in Noctis's throat finally broke free and he gripped the back of his father's shirt. He let those tears stream down his cheeks, not caring anymore that his father was seeing him like this. He did remind himself that this was his father, he would be there to comfort him if he needed. He could cry in front of his father and everything would be okay.

"I'm just glad you finally told me," Regis whispered softly before planting a small kiss on top of Noctis's head.

"B-But… I thought that… that I'm supposed to… th-that the rules…"

"There are no rules, only years of long traditions. But they do not have to be followed to a point. Nowhere does it state that you are required to marry a woman, only that you are to have a biological heir so our bloodline and magic can continue on. It never is stated how the heir must come to be. While we rightfully should have this conversation in some years, a surrogate is probably the best option."

"You'd really let me do that?" Nocits asked quietly while his sobbing started to die down. Slowly he looked up to look at his dad. "Instead of having to marry some girl?"

"I want you to be at your happiest, so yes that is correct. When you decide to get married one day, I want to see you with whomever makes you most happy. That's all that matters to me," Regis replied as he smiled kindly.

"Thanks dad," Noctis said. Shortly after he went to wipe away the tears from his eyes, feeling more relieved than ever before.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Only uncle Ardyn. He was who I went to when I first thought I might be gay. He helped me through it so I could figure it out."

"Ahh, I should have expected that. I'm glad you were able to get some help from him. I only wish you could have told me sooner," Regis replied.

"I'm sorry… I was just worried. But now it's good."

Regis nodded in agreement. "Yes, but do you mean to tell me that you haven't told your brothers yet?"

"I haven't had the right moment to tell Gladio or Iggy. I want to, but at the same time I'm afraid of what their reactions will be."

"They are your brothers, even if not by blood. I know they will understand if you told them."

"Yeah… not today though. I can only do so much revealing in a day."

"Of course, I understand." Regis then gave Noctis one last tight hug. "I'm glad we could have this talk."

"Me too," Noctis agreed. "So… with that out in the open. I should mention that I kind of already have a boyfriend."

Regis's eyes seemed to light up with joy and wonder. "Is that so? Well! That makes this day even better. So does your old man get to know just who this boy is?"

"Uh yeah, and with it… there some important things I want to talk about concerning him," Noctis said as he saw his father's face grow confused. "He's here in the hospital. Kind of accidentally texted him when Gladio put his own number wrong in my phone. But like I've already met this guy and… and he's just unlike anyone else I know."

Sighing happily Noctis unlocked his photo and pulled up a picture from the other day. It had taken a lot of pleading from Prompto, but the two of them finally took a selfie together. The bruises had cleared up enough anyways that Noctis felt confident enough to have a photo of himself taken. Besides it was with Prompto and Noctis found himself smiling every time he looked at it.

"This is Prompto, he's been in the hospital for five years… and I think I'm his first friend outside of his family. He is such a dork who loves chocobos, video games, and photography. Just overall so random and energetic, it's a nice change in pace from what I am use to."

Regis carefully took Noctis's phone and looked at the photo closely. The entire time he was smiling widely. "I haven't seen you smile like that since you were little. If this boy can make you smile like that, then he must be a good choice."

"Dad…" Noctis pouted as he felt his ears burning with embarrassment.

"So what important concerns are there? I assume it has to do with why he is in the hospital?"

"Yeah… he um… he has the Starscourge. But don't worry! It hasn't been bothering him much lately, but there could be another attack any day. So I wanted to ask… can we put funding into research to cure the Starscourge? Please?" Noctis looked at his father with pleading eyes.

"I can tell that he means a lot to you. I will see what I can do with funding the research."

With new joyful tears in his eyes, Noctis threw his arms around his dad and held him tight. "Thank you! I mean… thanks dad."

"Of course, Noct. Anything for my little Night Light. Now tell me where I can find this boy Prompto."

"Daaad… you're not going to be weird are you?"

"Noct,, as your father I think I am supposed to check in with who my son is dating. Even if I do trust your judgment I still want to check for myself."

"But you could scare him or intimidate him. You're the king after all! You don't wanna stress him out or… or um…"

"I will go easy on him. I just want to talk to him and thank him for bringing those wonderful smiles back to your face."

Noctis knew that he couldn't fight against his dad. Both of them were equally stubborn, after all Noctis did get that from him. So with that, he knew he couldn't persuade his dad to stop, but he could only hope that his dad wouldn't be too overbearing with Prompto. The last thing he wanted was for his dad to scare off Prompto. But he knew he also could trust his dad to be serious when he wanted to be. He only hoped that his dad wouldn't embarrass him too badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since there was texting wasn't there lol. That was a good bit of fun, but writing good dad Regis was my big goal for this chapter. Gotta make that progress after all. 
> 
> Thank you all once again so so much! And I will see you all next time!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like I meant to pots this earlier today but I kept forgetting. Plus I was pretty tired from my morning class. That is one thing to beware of now for me. I do have my online classes going on so updates may be spaced out more. 
> 
> Either way chapter 15 here we go!!

Even though Noctis knew he couldn't tell his father to not go and see Prompto, and even though he could hope that his father wouldn't be too much, he could still stall as long as he could. But still he didn't think he could really trust his father in the end, this was all too fast and quick for him to comprehend.

He had barely known Prompto a week, or maybe it was a week he honestly had not been paying attention to the time. Either way within the short time span he had already fallen in love and declared that he was boyfriends with Prompto. Maybe in some eyes it was all too fast, but Noctis's father didn't seem to question it or argue against it. After all as he said he just wanted to see his son happy as he said.

"So… you really just wanna go see him right now?" Noctis asked, hoping to delay the future embarrassment if he could.

"Yes, that is what I said after all. Now is my son going to tell me where his boyfriend is or am I going to have to talk to the doctor?"

"Fine fine!" Noctis muttered as he turned his wheelchair to move towards the door. But as he started to move his father cleared his throat and held up a hand.

"Just a moment son, I didn't say that you were coming with me."

"Whoa wait a minute!" Noctis exclaimed. "You can't just go over there by yourself. He's _my_ boyfriend."

"All the more reason to talk to him privately," Regis chuckled.

"But you can't-"

"As your dear concerned father, I can. I just want to see for myself how this boy is on his own with no outside influence from you. If you believe in him and love him then there should be no issue, correct?"

Noctis could see just how smugly his dad was smiling and he knew that he couldn't win. There was never any winning against his dad when he was playing the 'concerned dad' card. It didn't mean he liked or agreed with it, but it was hard to fight his dad when he was like this.

"Fine…" he sighed again before giving the room number for Prompto. Slowly he started to wheel himself back to the table.

"And no texting him to warn him either."

"Dad!"

Regis laughed. "I want this visit to be a surprise, can't have you warning him in advance."

"But you just… but he…" Noctis fumbled.

"Don't make me have Clarus stick around to make sure you don't text him."

Noctis sighed in defeat. "Just don't scare him away please."

"I promise," Regis said as he placed a hand over his chest. "I won't scare him. It'll just be a friendly visit."

Opening the door, Regis saw Clarus standing guard as he had been. "Come on Clarus, we have another visitor to see."

"And that would be?"

Regis smiled as widely as he could, looking pretty happy and perhaps a little amused. "Why to meet my son's boyfriend of course."

He walked away down the hall, leaving Clarus looking baffled and confused. Noctis snorted a little, knowing that his dad could be such a strange guy even to one of his best and closest friends. Clarus stared down the hall at first and then gave a confused glance to Noctis who waved cheerfully.

Shaking his head, Claurs resumed his normal serious demeanor before heading down the hall to catch up with his king. "Sir, did I hear you correctly?"

"Yes, but best to speak on it in more private quarters. No need for prying ears to leak anything out to the media after all," Regis replied in a low voice.

"Of course. But these events, they are recently developed?"

"It seems so, but it does my heart good to see Noctis so happy."

The two walked on until they reached the room that Noctis had said was Prompto's room. Thankfully the door was open and Regis carefully peered inside. There he could see the blond boy from the picture sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone.

Clearing his throat he knocked on the door lightly, and right away the boy looked up startled. "Huh? Noct did your vis…" his eyes widened. "O-Oh… OH! K-King Regis? What a-are you doing here? I mean you're here to visit Noct… Noctis! Right?"

Regis laughed, this boy was indeed easily flustered. "I already visited my son. Now I'm here to visit you. I hope that isn't an inconvenience."

"Oh no no! I just didn't know… like I sort of knew? Noct said he was going to tell you! OH wait did he actually tell you!? Shoot I'm just rambling now… and why does everyone keep surprise visiting me?"

Laughing again Regis entered the room and pulled a chair closer to the bed, behind him Clarus closed the door for a more private conversation without the fear of those passing by hearing. "That's perfectly fine, Prompto. But yes, he did tell me about you and the relationship you have with him. And before you worry, I approve of the two of you."

Prompto gawked. "Wait seriously?! A-Ah sorry… I don't mean to yell. I totally shouldn't be yelling in front of the king. Gods I probably look really stupid…"

"Not at all Prompto. The first meeting with the king can always be a bit much for some, but for you it's also meeting the father of your boyfriend."

Prompto's face started to redden quickly. "Y-yeah and that totally makes it less scary."

"As I said before, there is no need to worry. I just wanted to thank you in person."

"T-Thank me? For what? I haven't done anything."

"Yes you have actually. You've made my son smile again. I haven't seen him this happy since he was young you know," Regis said before slowly placing a hand onto Prompto's arm, making sure the boy wouldn't be too startled. "So I give you all my thanks for returning that happiness to my son."

"Y-You're welcome," Prompto said quickly. "Noct and I just connected… and it just kind of happened I guess. But… um if i can ask, has he really not seemed that happy in a while? I mean like I don't keep up to date on all the gossip and stuff… Especially when it's from that long ago."

"He has his moments, but he became far more closed off after…" Regis trailed off. "I'm sorry, I don't know if he mentioned this or not. I wouldn't want to reveal things that Noct wants to say in his own time."

"Is it… um something to do with the car accident? He mentioned that he was in one when he was eight, but he didn't talk any further on it."

"Ah," Regis replied. "If he mentioned that much, I can elaborate some more I suppose. I know that he himself doesn't like talking about it anyway."

Clearing this throat, Regis adjusted himself in his seat. "When he was eight, he had gone out with his mother for a fun night in the downtown area of Insomnia. It was winter though and snow had begun when they were out. Then for reasons I still have yet to understand, Shiva must have been in quite a sour mood for the temperature dropped and the new snow froze, making the ground cold and slippery. The roads were not cleared enough in time before the ice set in and they were heading home when the car lost traction…"

Regis lowered his head, letting out a long tired sigh. "The crash was sevre… only Noct survived albeit with injuries that left him in the hospital for months. The toll that it took on him was grave, having lost his mother at such a tender age. After he returned from the hospital he was much more quiet and closed off, even to his own dear father."

Prompto wrapped his arms around himself, looking fairly saddened. "Oh… I'm sorry. I had no idea it was that bad."

"It's all right. Fate can be cruel at times, but then the other times it brings good things; like you and Noct were brought together."

Prompto nodded in agreement. "Yeah… we were pretty lucky with that. But now that I know… I can understand him even better. Ah it's like uh… I doubt Noct told you everything about me, but I lost my parents when I was ten. So that's what I mean, not like taking it in any weird or bad way or anything."

"I understand Prompto. You two are good for each other and that is what matters most at this point."

"Thank you, um sir? Or should I just say King Regis? Your Majesty? Ah I'm sorry I don't really know…"

"You may just call me Regis if you want," Regis laughed. "Or if things progress, which I feel they most definitely will, you can call me dad."

Prompto's face turned red once more and this time he buried his head into his hands. "I… I think that might be a bit weird. I can't just call the king that."

"If you are to be my son-in-law it would be much more casual," Regis replied.

Clarus cleared his throat suddenly. "Let's not over do it this early on."

"Oh relax Clarus," Regis said as he turned to look at the man. "I'm just having some fun. Besides, I still would like to get to know my son's boyfriend." Regis turned back to look at Prompto. "If you feel up to it that is."

"I guess yeah I can," Prompto mumbled. "It's still all just a bit weird for me, that's all. Like I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. But what do you wanna know?"

* * *

That evening back at the Citadel, Regis was walking around the halls as he usually did in the evenings. There was nothing else to do at the time and a good walk was something he always enjoyed to clear up his mind. The day had given him many new thoughts to consider and go over, and that took just as much planning like with anything else he did. He had to go about it carefully to make sure that in the end everything would be okay.

Upon walking by the library he saw that the door was open and he could see that Ignis was pacing back and forth with a book in his hand. Whatever he was reading seemed to have caused him a lot of thought that kept him unable to sit still.

With his curiosity piqued he stepped inside and Ignis noticed him right away. He closed the book and straightened up his posture. He bowed properly as he always did. "Your Majesty. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No that's all right, I just happened to be walking by and I noticed you seemed troubled. But at the same time the more I think of it I want to speak with you on a matter."

"Yes Sir?" Ignis asked as he placed his book down at a nearby table.

"I know you have been busy back here and haven't been able to visit Noct recently, but upon visiting him today I discovered that he has a new friend."

"Ah yes… the boy Prompto," Ignis admitted, sounding almost ashamed. "I'm sorry I did not inform you right away. After doing a background check I got lost in research on the matter of-"

"The Starscourge, correct?'"

"A-Ah yes, that is correct."

"I talked with Noct today and he told me just that about Prompto, but no need to worry. You still did your research and I trust your judgments in what you do with the information you find."

Ignis nodded. "I've been trying to look into the origins of the illness, trying to find what I can to help shed light on a possible cure."

Regis suddenly smiled. "Wonderful idea. That was exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

Ignis looked at him, slightly surprised but still barely fazed. "It is?"

"We both have Noct as our biggest priority, especially when it comes to his happiness. And if you have seen what I've seen, this boy definitely has made Noct happier than he has been in years."

Regis wasn't about to completely reveal the entire truth to Ignis as he remembered what Noctis had said earlier. Noctis still had yet to tell Gladio and Ignis about his sexuality and Regis, being the good father he was, respected that.

But that didn't mean he couldn't subtly hint at it.

"Indeed. So I suppose you may have a plan of sorts for this subject?"

"Yes, and you will be my leading man in helping. First thing I will do though is give funding to the research into curing it. That is the easiest thing we can start with. I think a nice public speech would do nicely to add on to it."

"Right, I will get on that for you, Your Majesty."

"Thank you Ignis, I knew I could trust you on this," Regis replied. With that plan being set in motion he only could hope there would be enough time to make it all work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picking up the pace the plans are being set. What could happen next? Find out next time!  
> Also check me out on Twitter and Tumblr as Claire Firedragon if you wanna see sneak peaks (when I remember to post them) or just random things I post or such!
> 
> See you all next time!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone and a big old thank you as always for all your kind words! I love reading them and seeing what you guys have to say!

The day had come where Noctis would be transferred to the rehab facility. He was going to leave the hospital and go to an entirely different place. No longer could he easily go to visit his new boyfriend. Now it would all be strictly texting and calling. It wasn't the worst at least, they would still be in the city of Insomnia, but just buildings away.

Still the thought of leaving Prompto saddened Noctis. They had started to really get along so well and he hated the idea of being apart. But he knew he had to do it. The sooner he was rehabilitated the sooner he could just come and visit Prompto as a visitor. It would be as best as he could do until Prompto got better.

Wheeling down to Prompto's room he rehearsed what he wanted to say over and over again. He knew what he had to tell Prompto and how it would go. He just hoped that Prompto would be able to handle that… scratch that, he only hoped _he_ would be able to handle it.

When he got to the room he looked inside and saw Prompto sitting, reading through a book. He knocked on the door before he started wheeling in. Right away Prompto closed the book and got off from his bed. He grinned widely as he threw his arms around Noctis without any warning, though Noctis by this point had predicted it would happen. It was basically routine.

"Hey buddy!" Prompto beamed happily. "I was wondering when you showed up. Surprise visit as usual."

"You know it's more fun that way," Noctis replied as he hugged Prompto back. "But… I got something to talk to you about."

Pulling away from the hug Prompto looked at him slightly confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'm being moved to rehab for my legs. I've healed up enough here and now I gotta go elsewhere to see if I can still walk normally."

"Oh… well that is important. But that means we wouldn't get to see each other."

"Yeah… that's what I came to talk about," Noctis said with a sigh. It looked like it wasn't going to be as hard as he thought.

"I get it. I mean it's for you to get better, right?" Prompto asked as he moved back to sit on the bed.

Noctis wheeled over to the bed, still trying to filter out his words so he could explain himself clearly. "Yup… I just… I know it's going to be hard not being able to see you everyday."

"We can still text and call each other, right? Shouldn't be too big of a problem. Plus once you are able to walk again you can come visit!" Prompto replied, trying to sound as cheerful as ever.

"Once I'm walking again, yeah. Sounds like we got a good plan." Noctis reached his hand out and placed it on top of Prompto's, rubbing this thumb gentle on the top of his hand. "I'll text and call as much as I can, okay?"

"Oh you better! Otherwise you will get a spam inflow of texts from me!"

Noctis laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Oh also while I am gone, no flirting with any new patients, ya got that?"

Prompto snickered slightly. "Well I doubt I am suddenly going to be texted by another dreamy guy who just ended up in the same hospital as me. Even if I was I would have to tell him I was already taken."

Noctis gave Prompto's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm glad."

"And hey! Don't go finding any cute boys while at rehab! If I promise to be loyal you got to as well!"

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of looking at anyone else. I only got my eyes on one certain chocobo boy." Slowly Noctis's hand drifted upwards to cup the side of Prompto's face.

Prompto's cheeks started to have that light dusting of red that Noctis thought made him look extra cute. His face was still so soft and gentle, with a smile that lit up his heart. How he wanted to just hold Promtpo forever, running his hands through his hair. There was so much he wanted to do, but they were both stuck by limitation.

But in time… maybe that could change that. There was still time after all, and Noctis wasn't one to give up on things, not when they mattered dearly to him. He only hoped that he could hear from his dad soon so he could know what was going on.

"So how should we spend our last day?"

"Like how we usually do, you being cute and adorable while I cream you at games."

"I think you mean you getting all sour pouty cute while _I_ cream you at games."

The two jokingly teased and bickered back and forth until they heard someone giggling from behind. Noctis turned to look and saw that Dr. Fair was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Zack!" Prompto shouted. "Why are you now spying on us!"

"Cause I was passing by and heard you two being cute and adorable," Dr. Fair replied. "Man if I wasn't on the clock I would be taking pictures and filming you two to show Cloud."

"Zaaaaack," Prompto pouted. "Cloud already teases me enough! You don't gotta make it worse!"

Zack only smiled. "But you two are just too cute together! I know that you denied it before, but I agree with Cloud that you two were like us when we were young."

Noctis stared at Zack, seeing the fond smile on his face. He had never heard this story before, and now he started to wonder just what was being said . "So you really think Prom and I were like you and Cloud?"

Promtpo groaned. "Ahh don't ask him! We're nothing alike! Cloud was already messing around with me before but I don't agree with any of it!"

"Well it isn't exact piece for piece," Zack started to say. "But like ah I just don't know how to describe it. Maybe it's the teasing bit. I used to tease Cloud so much back in the day."

Prompto scoffed. "Back in the day?"

"Okay fine I still do tease it. It's just what I do. Anyways I do need to get back, I am on the clock anyways. You two have fun."

When Zack left the room Prompto let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry you gotta deal with him now, well more so than before."

"Hey you gotta deal with my dad, so I say we are equal," Noctis replied as he poked Prompto lightly in the arm.

"Okay you got me there. I guess we both have some weird family."

"Agreed. But I think that's far better than the boring type of family."

The two began to talk a bit more after that, just going from family talk to other things. Eventually they brought it back to gaming and started playing King's Knight. They played with one another until yet again they heard someone at the door. Now when Noctis looked he felt a little more nervous. Ignis was the one who stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and looking at the two of them with his normal neutral expression.

"Ah Ignis… um what are you doing here? Is everyone just going to be dropping in on us today?"

"I came to get yours stuff of course, or did you forget that you were transferring to rehab?"

"O-Oh yeah… I guess I forgot…"Nocits glanced between Ignis and Prompto, trying to figure out what else to say. He still had not told Ignis nor Gladio about being gay or that he was daitng Prompto. He had at least let Promtpo know about this, not wanting something to be accidently said. But now with Ignis staring down at the two of them he felt pressured and nervous.

"We shouldn't waste time though, please head out back to your room and make sure you have everything gathered. I checked the room twice but you should do the official final check."

"Right…"

Part of him wanted to hug Prompto goodbye, to tell him once more that he loved him, but Ignis was in the room. As long as Ignis stood there Nocits knew he couldn't express himself to Prompto, not properly at least.

"Text you later, Prom."

"Yeah, see you later."

Noctis started to wheel himself out of the room when he noticed Ignis wasn't following right behind him. "Specs? Something up?"

"Just go on ahead, I'll be just a moment. I haven't had the chance to be properly acquainted with your new friend."

Noctis swallowed slightly, tossing a quick look to Prompto. He had no idea what Ignis knew or what he was planning to say. He really did not want to leave Prompto alone with Ignis, but he had to put trust in one of his oldest friends. He knew Ignis did care and wouldn't be one to try and scare away Prompto, or at least he hoped.

While Noctis moved on ahead, Igins watched until he was out of sight, presumably heading back to his own room. Turning to face Prompto, he could see how paled and nervous the boy had become. It only had taken less than a couple minutes to go from laughing to complete and utter nervousness.

"So um like, you w-wanted to talk to me or something?"

"Relax, I only have a few questions and then I will be off," Ignis said as calmly as he could. The last thing he wanted to do was raise the stress levels on Prompto, knowing he probably already had been dealing with a lot.

"Oh o-okay, guess a few questions couldn't hurt."

"I know Noct told me his story, but I want to hear yours. How is it that you two became friends?"

"I was just on my phone and stuff when I got a text from an unknown number. He was asking 'Gladio' to play King's Knight with him and I had to argue a bit with him a couple times to convince him I wasn't Gladio. Showed him my face and stuff and then we just kind of talked."

"Just kind of talked…" Ignis repeated.

"Well yeah! That's what you do when you text people. You just start talking or texting or whatever and get to know one another," Prompto replied.

"And you know what kind of life Noct leads then?"

Prompto softly before answering. "Well yeah, I don't really read the news too often but I do know what goes on. It would be kind of stupid if I didn't know about the people who ran the kingdom that I lived in."

Ignis stared, his serious unchanging expression still analyzing the young blond. He could still see the tension and nervousness twitching in his fingers, but for the most part he was staying fairly calm. But that wasn't all Ignis needed to know. He had read the background information on Prompto and if it was true, he wanted to confirm it first hand. It was all to be safe after all.

"All right, one final question. Can you tell me where you were born."

Prompto's entire body went rigid, his eyes widening. But a moment later he breathed in and closed his eyes. "I… I'm… I was born in Nibelheim."

"I see," Ignis had his answers now, and for the time being he saw no further reason to question Prompto. If he had any other concerns he now knew where Prompto was staying. "That'll be all then."

He was about to head through the door when he heard Prompto speak up. "W-Wait! You mean that's it? I-I mean you have nothing else you want to ask me?"

"Nothing that comes to mind. Why?" Ignis turned around. "Do you have something that you think I should know?"

Prompto shook his head. "I just… you're not going to ban me or anything?"

Ignis raised an eyebrow. "Ban you?"

"Cause I'm a Niff," Prompto muttered, gritted his teeth as he spat out the words. "It's probably wrong for me to be friends with him."

Ignis could see the weariness in the boy's eyes. There was a deep sense of loneliness buried in there and then he recalled the information he had read on him. He was only ten-years-old when he lost his parents. His home had burned down and he had to move from a quiet town to the big city to live with his brother. When Ignis really put the thought into it, he could sympathize with Prompto, knowing how it feels to move from your home.

"You will not be banned. There has been peace between nations of Lucis and Gralea for decades now. But you must understand with Noctis being the prince, there are precautions that must be taken."

The look in Prompto's eyes deflated even more. "Yeah I figured…"

Ignis wondered if maybe he had used the wrong choice of words. Even if he had his usual thoughts on the subject matter, he wasn't ready to jump to action and block Noctis from talking to Prompto. He recalled the words King Regis had said about Prompto, how apparently he was making Noctis happier than he had been in years. Ignis had yet to see this truly first hand, other than the first encounter he had with Prompto, but he had to admit there seemed to be a truth to it.

"Prompto," Ignis said, making sure his voice was clear without hesitation. "You do not need to worry, I promise that you will not be banned from talking to Noct."

Prompto let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh good. That's nice to know. Um thanks I guess. I'm glad I can still talk with Noct."

"Of course," Ignis nodded before he turned to properly leave this time. "Have a good evening Prompto, and thank you for your time."

"Y-Yeah, no problem!"

Ignis walked back to where Noctis's room was, trying not to let the saddened face of Prompto burn into the back of his mind. It was hard to imagine what the boy must had gone through over the past five years, living pretty much in the hospital. There barely seemed to be any confidence in Prompto, most of it consumed by anxiety and fear.

But he was Noctis's new friend, a friend who made him happy. If some random boy could make Noctis smile more than Ignis, Gladio or even Noctis's father could, then maybe there was in fact some merit to all of this. He would just have to see how it played out in the long run, keeping a close eye on both boys, especially since the plans to fund a cure had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that's over, we can get a move on again. I got plans for next chapter hehe. 
> 
> Find me on Twitter and Tumblr as Claire Firedragon to see about random things I tweet or sneak peaks of stories!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally am back to writing this story! So sorry for the weight but I had other things to write and I did get a bit of a block on thi. BUT I AM BACK NOW! So ahh sorry for the wait but let's get to it!!

Ignis and Noctis had left the hospital and were heading towards the car. When they got there Ignis opened the door and looked over to Noctis, who already was texting on his phone. Ignis sighed with a slight roll of his eyes before he cleared his throat, getting Noctis's attention back.

"I think it would be much more beneficial if you got into the car first before going on your phone."

Noctis sighed before nodding. "Yeah whatever."

He reached his arms out towards Ignis and carefully he was helped into the passenger seat. Once he was buckled in and Ignis had placed the wheelchair in the back, he got to the driver's seat and started up the engine. Noctis tuned everything out again and went back to his phone, he was still in the process of texting Prompto and had not hit 'send' yet. He had to type and retype his message until it was exactly what he wanted for it. He finished up his message as quickly as he could before he finally sent it out.

 **Noctis:** sorry about Ignis and stuff I hope that he wasn't being too much on you or whatever  
 **Noctis:** just let me know okay?  
 **Noctis:** I hope he wasn't mad at you

 **Prompto:** Nah dude! You're good!  
 **Prompto:** Or I guess Ignis is good?  
 **Prompto:** He just wanted to ask me how we met but my side of the story.  
 **Prompto:** Nothing else that was scary or stuff.

Noctis breathed in a sigh of relief. Whatever it was that Ignis had wanted to talk to Prompto about really was nothing. Though he was sure Ignis may have been thinking other things about the subject, he wasn't speaking on any of them yet. Noctis knew well enough that those thoughts would eventually come around, but for the time being everything seemed fine. He could just relax in the fact that Ignis wasn't stopping him from texting Prompto.

 **Noctis:** that's good!

 **Noctis:** see? mom isn't that scary

 **Prompto:** Lol!

 **Prompto:** You're right!

 **Prompto:** Anyways…

 **Prompto:** I already miss you T.T

 **Noctis:** I miss you too :(

 **Noctis:** so get back to talking about King's Knight plans tonight?  
 **Noctis:** and other stuff too

 **Prompto:** You bet!!!

Noctis went on to chat with Prompto as he did, barely even paying attention to the surroundings. It didn't really matter to him anyways. All he wanted was to keep connected to his getaway from the rest of the world. Prompto, his newest friend and now boyfriend. Even if he was keeping Prompto secret from Ignis and Gladio, and pretty much the entire world, he was happy.

In time he would have to come out with the truth. He did want to express his feelings openly one day, especially after the talk with his father. The talk really had made him start to think about it again, and now he was actively thinking that something had to be done within time. Probably not soon, but at least not never anymore.

Eventually the car came to a stop and Ignis turned off the engine, warranting Noctis to look up and see that they had arrived at the rehab center. With some help he got back into his wheelchair and he sighed, looking up at the building before him. He knew this was going to be a long next few days or even weeks.

As long as he had Prompto by his side he knew that he would make it through this. Even if they were apart now and couldn't see each other face to face, he knew that he could rely on Prompto to be there for him in spirit. But first he was going to have to deal with everything for the adjustment for the rest of the day. He knew there would be a lot of talking and outlining his recovery plan. Honestly it was going to be a drag, but he knew he could look forward towards the end of the day where he could just talk to Prompto.

* * *

After all of the initial set up was talked over, Ignis brought Noctis to his new room. It was more comfortable looking than the hospital room but he did feel an emptiness knowing that Prompto would never be able to visit him. Letting out a sigh he wheeled himself over to the window and stared out the window.

The view was nice, he knew that Prompto would probably like it. Taking out his phone he tried to snap as best of a picture as he could. He sent it to Prompto after that and waited for his reply. There hadn't been anything since Noctis arrived at the building, but he had told Prompto he would be busy after all. Now at least he finally had the time to relax and chat with Prompto as much as he could.

As he waited he saw Ignis was setting up the stuff that was brought over from the hospital. "How are you feeling Noct?" Ignis asked after a moment.

"Fine," Noctis replied softly. "Just waiting for Prompto to reply."

"I see," Ignis said as he looked up and moved closer to where Noctis was. "Now about this Prompto…"

"You can't stop me from talking to him if that's what you want to get at," Noctis grumbled. He knew it probably wasn't what Ignis was going to bring up, but his initial fear that Ignis would try and stop the relationship still was settled deep in his mind. He didn't want to lose the first thing that really made him feel happy, a different kind of happiness that he had never experienced before.

"That was not what I was going to say," Ignis sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about the research fund that your father and I have begun. It isn't public yet, but I wanted to tell you first."

"Research fund?" Noctis asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Wait! You mean for the Starscourge?"

Ignis nodded. "I had a very detailed conversation with your father the other day over the subject matter. We will put as much as we can into people who are researching a cure. I only hope that it can help and help soon.

Something swelled up in Noctis's chest. An overwhelming feeling was filling up in him and he could barely hold back the tears. The chance that he could save Prompto, a hopeful future that he could be cured from the disease that was plaguing him. If Prompto was cured there would be so much more that they could do. They could finally take their relationship further than just hand holding.

Right away Ignis was kneeling down by Noctis's side, placing a hand on his arm. "Noct? Are you okay?"

Noctis gave a short nod. "Y-Yeah. I'm just h-happy. I really like Prompto and I don't want him to die."

He was cutting it awfully close with saying that he liked Prompto, he only hoped that Ignis didn't pick up on it. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Ignis, beginning to tear up a bit more than before. "Th-Thank you… for doing this."

Ignis held him in return, patting his back lightly. "Of course Noct. Your happiness is my priority. It would be either way to help find a cure, not just for Prompto but for anyone else that is suffering from that dreaded disease."

"Do you think it will be soon enough? C-Cause Prompto he…"

"Yes, I know that he has dealt with the disease for several years, he is a brave young man to have battled it for so long."

"Y-Yeah and I want him to be able to go out and see the world again. I wanted to take him to the chocobo ranch as well," Noctis admitted softly. "He really enjoyed seeing the live feeds."

"That's very considerate of you Noctis, I'm glad to see you thinking of others."

There was a small chuckle. "I gotta start at some point I guess."

"Well now that you know I will keep you up to date on any developments. If you wish to tell Prompto you may, but in my personal opinion I would advise against it?"

When Noctis stopped hugging Ignis he gave him a confused look. "Why not?"

"I don't wish to give him hope only for nothing to happen soon enough. I'd hate to lead him to disappointment."

"I already had planned on this though! Like I was the one to tell dad to look into funding research! I literally already told Prompto so I could give him hope! I'd rather be supportive and give him something to hope for than make him assume nobody cares about him!"

Ignis was taken back. He hadn't expected Noctis to lash out so suddenly, but he could see the determination in his eyes. He was more serious about this than anything else before. He had to give Noctis credit though, he had made his point much stronger anyways.

"I'm sorry Noct, I didn't mean anything by it. You may go ahead and tell him the news as you wish then."

Noctis nodded his head. "Yeah, thanks. Prompto, he just really needs all the good news he can get."

"I understand. Either way we shall progress with this."

"Hmm yeah, and thanks again."

After a few more words, Ignis said his goodbyes and left for the evening as he had other work to attend to. Noctis still sat in his wheelchair as he mindlessly looked through various feeds on his phone. He was still waiting for Prompto to reply, but there still had been nothing else. There was a but of worry radiating within his chest, but he decided to just give Prompto some time.

Maybe his brother was visiting or maybe he had some doctor appointments. He knew even though Prompto had pretty much nothing to do each day that there was always something that could end up happening. Besides, Noctis did have other things he was supposed to do. Other things aside from adjusting into his new space for the next bit of time.

Today Ignis finally had gathered the homework Noctis needed to do for school. As much as he hated doing it, he knew Ignis would only get on his back more if he didn't. Plus it was nearing the end of the school year. Summer was coming and once summer was here he knew he'd have so much more time to just relax and have fun.

He planned to spend as much time as he could with Prompto. That was already going to be the plan from the start. Sure it would take a lot of convincing from Ignis to let him visit so often, but maybe by then he would tell the truth. That started to give him a bit of an idea to work with.

" _By the start of summer, that's when I'll tell Ignis and Gladio. I'll tell them the truth and then I'll be able to visit Prompto more often."_

The hours started to pass though and he still had not heard from Prompto. He had his dinner and now it was starting to get later. Noctis tried to fight the feeling again, but he couldn't help himself now after so many hours had passed.

 **Noctis:** hey  
 **Noctis:** you okay and stuff?  
 **Noctis:** haven't heard from you in a hwhile  
 **Noctis:** awhile

 **Noctis** **:** just wanna make sure everything is okay

Noctis started to wait for a reply again, but much to his surprise his phone started ringing. Prompto was calling him instead of replying. He shrugged through and decided to answer. "Hey Prom?"

" _Noctis, uh it's Cloud."_

Noctis started to feel cold. Something about this was making him nervous, and he wasn't ready to place his finger on it yet. "Cloud? Why are you answering Prompto's phone? D-Did something…"

" _Prompto's fine,"_ Cloud said with a sigh. " _He just had a small attack today."_

"Small a-attack? What do you mean by 'small attack'?"

There was a pause and another sigh, Cloud sounded so tired and weary. _"Earlier in the afternoon the Starscourge started to flare up again. For the past month or so it's been actually fairly quiet or dormant. Whatever the right term is. But today-"_

"Wait!" Noctis shouted. His fingers were ice now and his heart was tempted to burst from his chest all at once. "Is he okay?! Is he b-breathing? I thought he was just busy or, or… I thought…"

" _Noctis, you need to-"_

"How can this happen!?"

" _Please, you should really calm-"_

"How bad is it? Is he needing oxygen? Oh gods is he… h-he-"

" _Noctis!" Cloud said, raising his voice._

Noctis stopped, his eyes widening. He may have just gotten to know Cloud, but he was always either soft spoken or snarky. He had never heard such a strong harsh tone come from him. But it was enough to distract him from dissolving into a panic attack. He closed his eyes, trying to take in some deep breathings, knowing that it was probably for the best. If he wanted to hear the truth, even if it scared him, he needed to be calm.

_"Noctis, I understand you are worried, but freaking out isn't going to solve anything. Prompto is fine, he has just been sleeping through most of the day. It's not the first time he has had an attack like this, just the first one in a while."_

Without even realizing it, the room started to blur. Noctis went to wipe away his tears, but more of them just kept coming. He couldn't believe that this had happened though he knew he should have fully expected it. Everything had been so nice and smooth since he met Prompto. No attacks and no issues at all during their time together.

He had nearly forgotten how severe the Starscourge could really be by the time he headed to rehab today. Out of all the days that something had to happen, it just had to be today. He felt sick to his stomach now, not knowing how Prompto was going to be. He wanted to believe that Prompto would pull through, he had spent five years dealing with it after all, but the fear was rooted in his stomach now.

"A-And he's just sleeping?" Noctis asked softly.

" _Yeah he's sleeping peacefully, the Starscourge has calmed down again within him,"_ Cloud replied. " _After resting for a couple days and taking it easy he will be back to his regular self."_

"I'm… I'm still worried though. M-Maybe I shouldn't have left today…" Noctis muttered softly.

" _What do you mean by that?"_

"What if I was what was keeping Prompto's illness at bay? Like I don't know but maybe just him being around me made the Starscourge lessen? I-I should have stayed there by his side. I should have b-been there. I-"

_"Noctis, please don't put that on your shoulders. I know you are my brother's boyfriend, but it's my job as his brother to be the one worrying by his side."_

"I can worry too!" Noctis snapped. "I can't just not worry about him!"

" _That's not… No I don't mean it like that,"_ Cloud said, sighing heavily once more. " _He's my little brother, it's my job to worry about him the most out of everyone. Doesn't mean you can't worry too, but don't blame yourself for what happened to him because you weren't here."_

"I know," Noctis cried, the emotions overflowing him once more. "I just w-want him to be okay."

" _I do too, but the only thing we can do is wait. Prompto is strong, he's fought this for five years."_

Noctis swallowed deeply as he tried to find a way to breathe again. This throat was sore and scratched now from his suddenly sobbing outburst. But this conversation was stirring into a way that he had not expected. He knew he could just agree and move on from it, but since he was here he figured he had to make something out of it. "Uh, Cloud? Can I tell you something?"

" _Sure, what is it?"_

"So like… I really am in love with Prompto and stuff, and I can't, I mean, I don't want him to… well you know. So I asked my father to help put more funding into research to cure the Starscourge."

There was silence on the other end of the line for the first few seconds. Noctis was afraid that he somehow upset Cloud. If Noctis's father had put funding into research years ago, maybe then the scourge could have been cured already. It was a thought that many probably had thought. If that was the case was Cloud upset that it took five years for something to finally be done about it all? Would he not want Noctis to seem like he is taking pity on Prompto?

He wasn't too sure but thankfully Cloud answered before his thoughts could get away from him. " _Thank you."_ Cloud's voice was almost a bit shaky, another tone that Noctis's didn't expect to hear from him. " _Thank you, Noctis. You don't know how much that means to me."_

"I just want to help, this is the only thing I can do besides just being by his side in general."

" _You are a good kid,"_ Cloud replied. " _I'm glad that you connected well with Prompto. Zack will be happy to hear the news."_

Noctis smiled slightly. "Good. Let Prompto know too? I'd want to talk to him as soon as I could, but I'll let you spend time with him first as he recovers. Or whenever he wants to reach out to me he can. Just let him know I called, okay?"

" _I will. Thank you, Noctis."_

"I'll um, let you get back to being with Prompto."

" _Have a good night, Noctis."_ Cloud replied.

Noctis hung up after that. He wiped away any remaining tears that he still had in his system. It still hurt him to know that Prompto had been suffering through a good part of the day. All this time he had tried his hardest to never imagine Prompto's illness getting to the point where he had seen images in the news. The sheer thought of it twisted everything up in his stomach had he felt like he was going to have to burst into the bathroom.

But he managed to breath again, slowing down his rapid beating heart. "Relax Noctis…" he whispered to himself. "Prompto's going to live… he's just gotta live."

Slowly he tilted his head up to the widow and saw the evening sky. There was a single star that already was showing its way within the ever darkening field of setting sun colors. With one last sigh he closed his eyes and pleaded to the Astrals. He rarely did such a thing, but now he just had to give everything a try. " _Please… please let Prompto live. I love him and I don't know what I'd do without him. So please… All I ask is for him to make it through this."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A great way to return to the story isn't it? XD
> 
> Anyways thank you all for reading hope you enjoyed!!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the new year so that means it is time for a new chapter!! Let's get to it! 
> 
> SMALL warning: Start of this chapter is a nightmare about the effects of the Starscourge and what it does to someone in this AU. Just some detailing but nothing extremely deep, but just a warning this is what is covered until the line break.

Noctis tossed and turned in bed, trying his best to settle down his mind. Even though he was trying as hard as he could to put all the worrying thoughts away, they were still there. The thoughts climbed into his head, clawing their way through every part of his heart and mind.

Eventually his mind felt so clouded he didn't even know where his thoughts were trying to go. One thought about snuggling close to Prompto was interrupted by a worry if his illness got worse. Before that one could even finish another thought crashed in reminding him of the seriousness of the Starscourge.

When he opened his eyes he saw himself standing somewhere. It almost reminded him of home, with the tall walls of the Citadel, but everything seems just a little bit off. He started to wander around, trying to see if he could find anyone. All he could hear was his own footsteps echoing against the halls, leaving him a little unsettled.

Eventually he could hear a sound coming up. Picking up his pace he exited out into a garden. The sylleblossoms were everywhere, their petals floating around as the breeze blew by. Noctis wondered if he really had heard someone as he didn't see anyone right away. But then he noticed someone sitting in the flowers, someone with a very familiar bit of blond hair.

"Prompto!" Noctis called, feeling overjoyed to see him, let alone outside. He started to run, getting closer to Prompto, who had his back facing him currently. "Hey! Prompto!"

Slowly Prompto turned around to face him, and Noctis nearly skidded to a halt. Prompto looked pale, but Noctis could see his veins. Prompto's veins were black, reaching from his arms all the way up to his neck. They hadn't quite spread across his face yet, but they were slowly getting there.

"Noct…" Prompto gasped. "The… the Starscourge, it's… it's…"

Prompto nearly fell over, but Noctis was quick to catch him in time. His body felt cold against Noctis's fingers, and he could even feel Prompto's entire body trembling. He held him as gently as he could, trying to wrack his brain around what was happening.

"No… shit, this can't be happening," Noctis muttered as he carefully scooped Prompto into his arms. He needed to give Prompto some reassurance as he stared down at the poor blond's hazy eyes. "H-Hold on, okay? I am going to find s-someone! We're going to get you all better!"

Prompto muttered something incoherent as he buried his face against Noctis's chest. The black seemed to be spreading further through his body, finally reaching his face. As Noctis ran around, hoping that he would be able to find someone, he felt Prompto's body jerk.

Noctis staggered to a stop and looked down at Prompto, his gut tightening at the sight. Prompto coughed and hacked up some of the Starscourge, black ooze dripping from his mouth. His skin was already starting to pale even more than before, making the black veins stick out much more prominent in his skin.

"Come on, Prom!" Noctis shouted. "D-Don't die on me! P-Please don't die."

Noctis tried to run again, but he was met with the ground instead, dropping Prompto in front of him. His legs felt heavy and he could no longer move them how he wanted. He could only pull and drag himself across the ground to Prompto's limp body.

"P-Prom," Noctis whispered. He shook Prompto's body, but there was no response. Prompto's eyes laid open, vacant with the dark veins that had reached into Prompto's eyes. The whites of the eyes now turned as black as night, making his beautiful eyes stand out against them.

Noctis placed his hand on Prompto's chest, waiting to feel the heartbeat, but there was nothing no matter how long he waited. The black Starscourge just kept pouring from Prompto, now also from his eyes and ears as he laid there motionless.

"Fuck… no nonono, gods please no," Noctis cried as he felt his heart tearing in two.

Prompto had become such a prominent thing in his life in such a short span of time. He still couldn't explain the pull he felt, but he was drawn to Prompto. Someone who treated him just as a person, not as a prince. Prompto was just a kind and sweet boy who didn't deserve the illness that he was given. He deserved so much more and Noctis had been so determined to give it to him.

That was all gone now.

All of Noctis's hopes and dreams to be with Prompto crushed because he couldn't save him from a stupid illiness. His first person he ever loved and actually felt open in expressing it, he was gone from him, all too soon.

Noctis curled up against Prompto and began to sob, no longer able to contain the broken heart within him. Without Prompto he felt lost. He didn't know what he was going to do anymore, not without Prompto by his side.

* * *

Noctis's eyes suddenly opened and he was met with the darkness of his current room. His entire body was trembling as he tried to sit up. It took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart and tell himself that he was sitting in his bed at the rehab facility. He was there and not back home at the Citadel.

" _Prompto…"_ Noctis shuddered. " _It was just a nightmare…"_

Grabbing his phone he clicked it on to see the time. It was 3:23AM. He barely had gotten any sleep at all, and now he knew that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. The nightmare still was vivid in his mind. It all had felt too real in his mind, and part of his mind wanted to believe that it was still read. But he had to tell himself that it was, in fact, just a dream. Prompto only had a minor attack, it wasn't anything major otherwise Cloud would have told him.

Part of him wanted to open his phone and call Prompto just to make sure, but he hated to call so late. He knew it wouldn't do any good if he woke up Prompto when he was still recovering. He needed to just wait, even if it was tearing him apart inside. So instead, he opened up his phone and went to his photo gallery. He clicked on the special new album he made labeled _Prompto &Me_ and started to scroll through the few images he had. There weren't a lot of photos there, but there were enough to bring him some ease.

He wasn't really sure when he fell back asleep, but before he realized it, it was morning and his phone was almost dead. Sighing, he plugged it into the charger and sat there until breakfast was brought for him. Halfway through eating his phone pinged and he grabbed it quickly, nearly dropping his food from his other hand.

He stared at the message on the screen and began to smile a little.

 **Prompto:** Hey dude!!!

Unlocking his phone, he almost was ready to pour out his sorrows and worries, but he knew he had to hold back. He didn't need to unleash that all on Prompto right away.

 **Noctis:** hey  
 **Noctis:** how you doing?  
 **Noctis:** I mean are you okay?

 **Prompto:** Yeah I am feeling better! Just needed some good rest and stuff!  
 **Prompto:** Sorry if I worried you though, Cloud told me about the call you guys had last night…

Noctis swallowed slightly. Did that mean that Prompto was upset that Noctis nearly panicked? Or was he more off-put that Noctis had done something like that. He tried to wrap his brain around what it could be, but he wanted to try and push away as much fear as he could.

" _Pull yourself together,"_ he thought to himself. " _You can do this."_

 **Noctis:** no no!!  
 **Noctis:** it's okay!  
 **Noctis:** I just you know…  
 **Noctis:** you don't have to worry about that  
 **Noctis:** I was just tired anyways

 **Prompto:** If you say so… I just didn't want you to worry…  
 **Prompto:** I know my illness makes things hard…

 **Noctis:** I still love you  
 **Noctis:** illness doesn't matter cause I love you

Maybe what he was saying was cheesy, but it was all he could think of. He truly did love Prompto no matter what. Illness or no illness he would love and cherish Prompto forever.

 **Prompto:** Thanks man, it means a lot.

 **Noctis:** yeah don't worry cause I am doing what I can do help remember?  
 **Noctis:** being a good boyfriend and stuff  
 **Noctis:** cause yeah  
 **Noctis:** I love you

 **Prompto:** Aww thanks buddy!  
 **Prompto:** Love you too! 3

Noctis started to smile, feeling his fears fade from his chest. He could breathe normally again, knowing that everything was back to how it was. Though, there was still the slightest bit of unease within him. With a deep breath he started to type out one last thing that was on his mind. If he could get this out of the way, he knew things could finally calm down within his mind.

 **Noctis:** could we call  
 **Noctis:** like a video chat and stuff?  
 **Noctis:** if you feel good enough for it

 **Prompto:** Yeah! I can chat!  
 **Prompto:** I really want to cause I misssss yoouuuuuuuu!!!

Noctis clicked the video option and it began the call, with Prompto picking up right away. From what Noctis could tell, there were no black veins on Prompto's face or neck. He looked just like he did the last time he saw him. They began their talk and the last residual fears Noctis had melted away. This was his normal, just goofing off and talking with Prompto. This was what he was used to and what he enjoyed.

* * *

Regis was walking down the hall, several documents in his hand. As he read over them he nearly was on autopilot as he headed into his study. When he got there he looked up to see that Ardyn was looking through the bookshelves, humming some tune to himself.

"Ardyn," Regis cleared his throat. "Here for another one of your unexpected visits where you tell me some crazy idea you have for a law?"

"Not this time, dear brother," Ardyn laughed. "Today I have a different matter to discuss with you, one I know you probably have been waiting to talk about with me."

Regis had the smallest inkling of a feeling what Ardyn alluded to, but with Ardyn you could never be sure without confirming. "And by matter, which one? I can assume there are several."

"Why the one concerning my dear, sweet nephew. I am sure by now he's told you what is on his mind, correct?"

Regis nodded before moving to his desk. He sat down while moving his papers to the side. "Yes, Noctis told me several things as of late. Things you already knew about before me. Ardyn, thank you for helping him with his feelings. I can trust you to help guide him in the right direction, even if you are a bit much at times."

Ardyn smiled. "I shall take that as a compliment. But yes, I have done what I could to help Noct. I wished he could have opened up sooner, but these things we cannot rush."

"And that brings me to my second piece on this agenda; his boyfriend. I don't know how much Noct told you, but this kind-hearted boy who loves my son is ill with the Starscourge. I have started giving more funding towards the research to cure it. I thought that would be of interest to you."

Ardyn's eyes drifted for a moment, his eyes hazy and distant. Regis waited, leaving his brother to be in his deep thoughts as long as he needed. "Of course, the research means quite a lot to me. As you know I already poured a good portion of funding into it."

"Yes, and now I am helping further it along. I'm sure something good will come from this, sooner than later I hope."

"Indeed," Ardyn replied softly. "Let us wish the researchers the best of luck. Hopefully the future will be bright for my son and his boyfriend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing nightmare scenes in fics. One of my favorite angst ways to go about stuff. But other than that, Ardyn and Regis finally had a scene together yay!!
> 
> I still have so many plans for this story though. But it's going to be fun!


End file.
